Close to Death
by AliasAlien
Summary: Why should it be dangerous to go on a jog at night? Or spend a day at school? To walk home in the snow? For Akane, a curse has her tempting death wherever she goes and leaving her drained and heartbroken. Ranma is the only one who can help her - but when he finds out what must be done to save her life, it becomes the first fight he's not sure he can win. [Finished 8/17/17]
1. Light a Curse to Burn a Love

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
October 2015

 **Chapter 1: Light a Curse to Burn a Love**

Shampoo looked at the scroll in her hand, grinning evilly. "Great grandmother, this I buy."

Cologne and the Chinese merchant looked at the plotting purple-haired girl. It was mid-afternoon in the Cat Cafe, and the restaurant was closed until dinner. A traveling merchant had stopped by for an appointment with Cologne and had his wares spread out on the table before then. He and Cologne had been casually chatting about some of his medicinal herbs when Shampoo had spoken unexpectedly.

The man took one look at the scroll and inhaled sharply in approval. "Ohhh yes, pretty girl is clever – find most ancient and valuable scroll I have for sale!" He tapped the top of the paper with his finger, looking at Cologne. "This scroll ensure perfect revenge against love scorned. Very reasonable price, too."

Cologne hopped on her walking stick over to Shampoo, and carefully read the Chinese characters on the page before her. She gasped. "This... This can't be! I recognize this curse..." Her eyes wandered to the cloth pouch tied onto the scroll. A symbol of fire was on the outside of the bag, a faded warning of death carved into the dark leather. She regarded her great granddaughter carefully. "This is truly dark and terrible magic...Shampoo! You would put son-in-law through this terrible curse?"

Shampoo's grinned widened. "Not quite what have in mind. Curse not for Ranma..."

Realization struck her, and Cologne found herself astonished at the lengths her young descendant would go to in order to capture the adoration of her love. "I pity the girl."

Eyes alight, Shampoo turned to the traveling merchant. "How much?"

* * *

She waited until dark before sneaking over the fenced walls. Jumping from the wall to the roof, she crept quietly to the dark window, listening carefully for any movement inside. The light was off and she peered silently in through the glass before quietly shimming the window open.

The only occupant of the room was fast asleep. Shampoo was relieved to see the pig wasn't here - if two people were exposed to the curse, she wasn't sure if it would be as effective. And for her plan to work she would need this curse to work as well as possible.

In the back of her mind she wondered if she should feel some guilt for what she was about to do. After all, if this really did lead to Akane's death it would be a painful way to go. Shampoo had been serious in her attempts on Akane's life in the past, and if it was a curse that led to her death it would be sort of a cheap way for Shampoo to finally defeat her. _All fair in love and war_ , she consoled herself as she swung effortlessly through the window frame and landed silently on the carpet.

In mere seconds she had the pouch laid open on the desk next to Akane's head, a tight coil of incense laying on the open cloth. It seemed to pulse and move like a snake in the dark. Shampoo tied a bandana over her nose and mouth, and glanced once at Akane's sleeping face. _Good bye brute girl._ She lit a match, hovering hesitantly over the incense. _I do this for love of Ranma. I sorry it must end this way._

Cloth in hand, Shampoo left moments later, closing the window behind her. She stole away in the night, gone as quickly as she had appeared. Inside the room, a dark smoke rose into the air, the incense burning hot and quick like a sparkler. It left no ash behind as it burned into smoke: a silent and untraceable bringer of death.

Akane Tendo breathed deeply and silently, unaware of the tendrils of smoke that wrapped around her neck as she slept.

* * *

"Another test?!"

"Right before Christmas?!"

"Have a heart!"

The collective of students groaned as Ms. Hinako passed out a study guide.

Hinako Ninomiya frowned at the unanimous reaction. "Now now! A good teacher is expected to test her students regularly to teach them good study habits! And I am a good teacher! Here, you, finish passing these out..." Dismissively she dropped a stack of study guides onto one boy's desk and resumed her spot at the front of the class. The boy grumbled, but got up to pass out the papers.

"The test will be this Friday! It will cover everything we've learned since Autumn to now, and your grade will be a defining mark of your understanding. Those of you who don't pass can expect to be spending your winter break here with me, cramming to catch up with your peers!" Hinako grinned, attempting to look evil, but pulling off a cute dazed look instead on her childish face.

The students exchanged glances and groans. A couple students whispered, "Wait can she even do that?" "Is that legal?" "If anyone would allow it though it would be the principal…"

Akane Tendo looked gloomily down at the study guide in her hands. Christmas time was quickly approaching, and she had been looking forward to spending the next few days looking for presents and decorating the house. Winter Break started right after class got out on Friday, and Christmas was on the following Monday. That left her only two days to find gifts for everyone, assuming she had to study every night. She sighed, and let the paper fall to her desk. _Oh well... At least I'm pretty confident I'll be able to pass. Unlike some people..._ Akane glanced over at Ranma to see how he was taking the announcement.

The normally confident Ranma Saotome was looking abashed. He stared at the page in front of him, visibly depressed, his braid weepy. Akane frowned, looking away. _That's kind of...pathetic._ She sighed to herself. _Looks like he'll need help. Even if I'm not the best student, I can probably help him at least pass. If Ranma has to give up his Winter Break, we'll never hear the end of his complaining._ She glanced back at him. _I'll offer, anyway..._

The school bell rang, and the sound of chatter and scraping chairs filled the room. Ranma angrily stuffed his study guide into his bag, gloomy. He figured the last week of school before break would breeze by, but now his vacation hung in the balance. If studying was his only way to ensure he wouldn't have to spend his break with Ms. Ninomiya, then studying would have to happen. _Would Akane be any help I wonder?_ Ranma looked at her back as she packed up her things, curious. _She's not the best student but she can probably help me pass... I'll have to play to her ego when I ask..._

Before he had a chance to approach her, however, another girl stood in front of him. "Ranma honey!" Ukyo chirped. At the sound of the nickname, Akane looked over her shoulder glowering. _What does she want now?_

"Oh... hi, Ukyo!" Ranma scratched behind his head, considering her.

Ukyo smiled at him, then suddenly grew gravely serious. "Ranma honey, this test is going to be hard and I'm not willing to stand by and let you fail." Ranma frowned at her lack of confidence in him, and then mentally shrugged it off because it wasn't exactly misplaced. "So why don't you let me help you? We can study together, and as a study snack we can even have okonomiyaki, my treat!" She winked.

In the background, Akane fumed.

Ranma, however, lit up and grabbed her hands. "Really, Ukyo?! Incredible! Yes!" He grinned, hopeful for the first time since hearing about the test. "I was going to ask Akane for help, but you're way better at school-" A flying book cut off his sentence prematurely as it collided with his head, knocking him to the floor.

Sputtering, Ranma caught the book as it fell from his face and looked up at a furious Akane. "What's your problem?!"

Akane snatched the book from his hand, seething. "My hand slipped. Sorry to ruin such a nice moment with your _cute_ fiancé." She huffed, turning away. "See if I ever think of helping you again, you ingrate!"

Ranma watched her stomp off, confused. _When was she going to help me?_ He rubbed his temple, and stood up as Ukyo chattered about him coming over to her restaurant so they could get started on studying. He watched Akane as she talked to Sayuri and Yuka about the test. "Seriously uncute," he mumbled to himself.

"We'll come over to your place after dinner then, okay Akane?" Akane nodded, only half listening to her friends. _Stupid Ranma, I hope he fails after all..._

* * *

They were only halfway through the study guide when the romance questions started.

"It must be hard to see Ranma and Ukyo making plans to study alone together, huh Akane?" Yuka and Sayuri looked sneakily at Akane. "I mean...he was your fiancé first."

"Hmph." The tip of her pencil snapped. "I don't care. He can study with whoever he wants. I don't even care if he does fail." Akane grit her teeth and sharpened her pencil like a dagger. "And I don't care who he marries. Ranma can do whatever he wants."

The silence grew uncomfortable. Akane looked at her friends, and felt her anger ebb. "Sorry... I don't mean to sound angry. Sometimes I just..." She put her pencil down, putting her chin in her hand instead. She didn't like talking about her relationship with Ranma, but her friends absolutely loved talking about boys and romance. She gave in on the subject for them, however hesitantly. "I just don't even think he cares about..." _Me._ "…this _arrangement_ at all..."

The girls looked at each other. "Well... You guys are engaged for the sake of the dojo right? At least there's that!"

"Yeah..." Akane sat thoughtfully and sadly, looking away from her friends and out the window. "But what kind of marriage would it be if it were for the sake of continuing a dojo? Don't get me wrong, I love the Anything Goes School but," she turned from the window, trying to grin bravely, "martial arts does not a marriage make! You need..." Here she got sheepish and mumbled, "Like, love and that stupid stuff..."

"She's blushing! She's blushing!" The girls laughed, teasing the dark haired girl. Sayuri smiled, "But surely Ranma has said he loves you, right?"

Akane stiffened and the atmosphere in her room grew dark. Her friends balked but quickly tried to cover it up to avoid hurting her feelings. "We-ell he's a boy! Boy's don't say 'I love you' very easily!" "No, especially not at this age!" "Right, right, high school is a difficult time for boys!" They nodded, trying to convince themselves as much as her.

"No," Akane answered finally. "I guess they don't..." She sighed, getting grumpy again, and mumbled, "But it would sure help if I had any sort of clue..." She sighed again, sadly. "At this point, I really don't think Ranma even really thinks about...whether or not... I mean... Love..." She trailed off.

Her friends looked at the back of her head as she looked out the window again. Quietly, tentatively, Yuka asked, "And what about you Akane? Do you love Ranma?"

"Well..." Her brow furrowed, and she frowned before carefully answering, "I don't think... I could love someone... who doesn't love me..." They exchanged a look. Akane noticed the silence that followed, and felt bad about getting so serious. She turned back to them and smiled quickly and apologetically, trying to brighten the mood. "Y-You know what I mean? What kind of a love life would that be! I'd be no better than Kuno!"

The girls laughed together ("Poor misguided Kuno!"), but outside the window a face sat set in stony silence. Ranma, suspended above Akane's window, laid crouched on the roof tiles with a sick, guilty feeling in his stomach. And it had nothing to do with the okonomiyaki he had spent all night eating.

 _Could she... hate me so much...?_ He had been on his way to check in on her after studying with Ukyo, to see if she was still mad about earlier, when he had heard the girls talking about him. There had been times before when he'd felt like a jerk about how he treated her, but hearing her sound so sad and defeated was more than he could handle. _Akane..._ And what did she mean by that answer?! _Saying she can't love someone who doesn't love her..._ Where did that leave her feelings for him?

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?" Akane stood just inside the front gate of the house, her friends on the street outside. It was already dark out - it had taken them longer than they thought to get through the study guide.

"No, it's fine! We live nearby."

"Yeah, besides my mom would kill me if I didn't come home, she'd think I was using this as an excuse to meet a _boy_!"

After a last few exchanged giggles, the girls waved goodbye, and Akane disappeared back inside the house. She headed up the stairs to bed, glancing at the door to the guest bedroom with a heavy heart as she passed. _They mean well, asking about Ranma and me, but..._ She entered her room, feeling glum. Their questions left her feeling dejected and unsettled. Even after all their time together, she still didn't have a concrete answer about her relationship with Ranma.

Only a few months ago Akane was confident about how Ranma felt about her. She had been laying in his arms when she heard him say that he loved her, and only a few weeks later he called her beautiful when she stood in front of him in a wedding dress. But since then life had just fallen back into the same pattern as before. They were back at school, Ranma was back to being followed by the local fiancés, and he and Akane were back to a semblance of something normal, with feelings going unspoken. Sometimes it felt to Akane that her time as a doll in Jusendo had never happened, and the wedding was just a dream.

Akane curled up in bed under the covers, still feeling uncomfortable. She stared up at the ceiling. _Ranma... You idiot..._ Her nerves were making her fidget, and she glanced at the clock. Sleep was going to come hard tonight. _If only that idiot could just come out and say it, be honest... Tell me that he loves..._

A strange feeling washed over her. Her eyes glazed over, and she felt compelled to get out of bed. What she needed was to work out some of her extra energy before bed. _Yes. Then I'll be able to sleep._ That's what she needed.

In the darkness, moving as if in a dream, Akane got dressed.

* * *

"A-A-A-Akane... you... are... not... too much... of a... tomboy..." Ranma clenched his teeth. _Is that... the best I can do?!_

Ranma was perched on a tree branch above the Tendo household, sulking in the moonlight. He stared at the trunk of the tree in front of him, and took a deep breath. _Think of it like a challenge, do whatever it takes to win._ "A-Akane... When I say you're uncute, I... I don't mean it... Only sometimes?" He frowned. "Damn it!" His fist connected to the bark, frustrated. "Why is this so hard!" After all, if he wanted Akane to know enough about how he felt about her to not hate him, he'd have to do better than that.

 _Anyway, I thought we were past this point!_ He thought he had made it pretty clear after their trip to Jusendo how he felt about her. Sure, they hadn't talked much about their feelings for one another since the failed wedding, but after nearly getting her killed – twice – he had been grateful for the last few weeks of calm normalcy. _What's wrong with letting things get back to normal, anyway?_ He scowled, remembering the hesitancy in her voice. _"I don't think I could love someone who doesn't love me."_ Her words stung deeply, and made him uneasy.

He took a deep breath. "You... are built... like a... _small_... brick... Damnit." With a huff, he decided the words he was looking for weren't going to be found tonight. _It's getting late anyway, maybe I'll have more luck if I sleep on it..._

Ranma swiveled on the balls of his feet, ready to jump to a lower branch, when he saw movement down below. He crouched, peeking through the leaves.

Akane was walking lightly towards the front gate dressed in her winter jogging clothes. She moved quickly and quietly, slipping through the gate silently. _Hm?_ Ranma moved closer for a better view, peering down at her. She did a few short stretches then took off at a slow pace down the street. _Running at night? She's never done that before._ He frowned. _And what an idiot - she didn't even bring a flashlight or nothin'! And it's freezing out! What is she thinking?_

He made up his mind quickly. Stealthily, he hopped down from the tree onto the wall surrounding the property, and padded silently after her, hands in his pockets. _Akane... I swear, you better not do anything stupid..._

* * *

Akane passed street lamp after street lamp, lost in thought.

What was she doing out here, running around, when she could have been working out safely in the dojo? She frowned as she ran, shivering slightly in the winter air. She had just felt so compelled to go outside, even though in the back of her mind she knew it wasn't safe to go running around after dark. _And without a flashlight or reflective vest either… Or some sort of weapon._

She tried to stop her feet, to turn around, but for some reason she just kept moving forward. It was unnerving to be out so late, but also calming. Everything was silent except for the sound of her feet plodding along on the concrete. She passed dark house after dark house. Everyone was asleep. She felt strangely at peace, and smiled to herself, feeling a warm rush sweep over her body despite the biting cold of the winter air.

 _If only Ranma were here..._ She sighed dizzily, an image of Ranma swimming in front of her. Suddenly she wasn't running alone on a dark street, but instead was laughing and running with Ranma in the park.

 _He was in his Mao suit, his ponytail bobbing out underneath his hat as he ran ahead. She struggled to keep up with him, but was laughing despite herself. "Slow down!" she called, tripping over her own feet. He just looked over his shoulder and grinned at her._

" _Follow me!"_

"Ran...ma..." She whispered, her eyes flat and unfocused.

* * *

"Where the hell is she going?!" Ranma had to jog to keep her in his sights, his eyebrows furrowed. He had been following far behind Akane for a few minutes now, when her running had suddenly become erratic. She sped up and was starting to stumble. Abruptly, she turned off of her normal jogging path and instead headed down a street that wasn't residential. "What is she thinking, that idiot?" He hissed between his teeth. "There are so many blind turns on that road..." He took his hands out of his pockets, quickening his pace as he ran along the top of a fence.

* * *

" _Do you love me?" Ranma shouted over his shoulder. Akane laughed, running faster. The wind was harsh and biting, but the vision of Ranma in front of her kept her moving._

" _Of course I do!" Akane called after him, shyly. Her heart rate quickened, and she felt drunk from the overwhelming feelings that poured out of her._

 _Ranma seemed to glow with her confession. "Then hurry up and catch me, and prove it!" The sunlight was bright on his face, but she personally felt no warmth from the rays._

" _I would," she gasped, "if you would slow down a little!" He grinned, and stopped, turning to face her. He spread his arms out to hug her, and called out to her._

" _If you love me... die for me."_

The bright lights shattered her vision before her ears could adjust. With his words still echoing in her head, Akane found herself transported out of the lovely sunny scene in the park, and instead back, alone on a street in the chill of winter. Her wits returned to her, and she remembered her decision for a nighttime jog. But the street was no longer dark – it was blaringly bright.

The headlights bleached her vision so that all she could see was the massive truck in front of her. She had no time to move, no time to think; she was stuck with no way to escape.

It hit her across the chest, and the world turned upside down as she spun through the air, shutting her eyes tightly in pain. The landing was surprisingly gentle. The wind was knocked out of her and her mind was swimming, but she faintly realized she was on her feet.

There was a ringing in her ears, and it took her a moment before she could open her eyes. When she did, she found herself staring at a wall. She tried to move, but realized she couldn't – someone had their arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Ranma saw the whole thing.

 _Akane!_ Running off the sidewalk and into the street.

 _Akane!_ Stumbling, as a truck whipped around a blind corner.

 _Akane!_ As she staggered to a stop, just staring at the truck.

 _Akane!_ The headlights drowning her in blinding light, standing small and still.

And then, in his mind's eye, Akane, dying at Jusendo as she tried to save him.

 _Akane...!_ His mind was racing, and it was only by some miracle that his arms found her before the truck did. The truck was moving fast, but Ranma was quicker. With arms tight around her he leapt them both to safety into a small side alley, the sound of a horn blaring and then fading into the distance, echoing alone in the otherwise silent night.

Ranma held her close to him as his eyes adjusted to the darkness again. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other on the back of her head, holding her against him. His heart felt like it was it about to beat out of his chest, and he was breathing hard.

He felt her stir against him, and he pulled back to look at her.

Brown, clueless, terrified eyes met his blue ones. "Ranma...?" _I could have died._ With a gasp, she started breathing again and abruptly her legs gave out.

Ranma grunted, and let his own legs slide out from under him, lowering them both slowly to the ground. He leaned back against the brick wall behind him, Akane curled up between his knees.

"You..." He looked at her shivering frame, relief sweeping over him. _She's alive._ "Are you okay?"

 _I almost died._ Akane seemed unable to hear him, just seeing the truck in front of her again. She winced, then looked at him, tears appearing in her eyes.

"Shit, are you hurt anywhere? Talk to me," he lowered his voice, "Akane..."

This time she was able to shake her head. "I... I'm fine..." The tears still came, but she was able to rub them away. "I'm not hurt."

"Good." Ranma looked her over, to ensure she really was fine, then felt his anger rise up. "You idiot!" A tidal wave of anger hit him. "You idiot, Akane!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Hey!" Akane looked at him, bewildered, tugging at his hands to get them off. "What are you-"

"NO!" Ranma shouted, scaring her. "You don't get to talk right now. What were you thinking?! You absolute moron! Going out at night, not telling anyone." She had never seen Ranma so livid at her before. He was shaking – from anger, she thought; from fear, he felt.

"What would have happened if I hadn't seen you leave? What would have happened if I hadn't followed you?" He shook her again, and this time she was silent, letting him move her. "You almost _died_ just now, do you even... do you even realize? Realize what that would do to me?!" He clenched his teeth together, eyes angrily searching her face. "If you had gone out here during the middle of the night and _died_ , and I would have had no idea – no one would have – and we could do nothing to save you? _Nothing_?! No! You idiot! I just got you back from Jusendo, you're supposed to be safe here! You – you – you idiot!"

Akane just sat there in shock. Ranma's eyes had welled up with angry tears. "Are you listening to me?!" She nodded, silent, hoping he wouldn't shake her again. He searched her face again then grabbed her, pulling her close up against him. "You idiot. Don't you dare scare me like that again. Don't be so stupid!" His fingers gripped her arms tightly, and he buried his face into her shoulder. "Damnit, Akane... Scaring me like that..."

She was left with nothing to say. She felt like a child who was being reprimanded – and to think of all the stupid things he had done in the past to almost get himself killed! She tried to fill her stomach with anger, to yell back at him... But the fire was out in her belly, and she caved.

She brought her arms up to hug him around the shoulders. "Ranma... I'm so sorry." She tightened her grip, seeing a vision of the truck flash in front of her eyes again, and relaxed her hold as it disappeared. She could feel a dull throb across her abdomen where his arm had slammed into her then lifted her away to safety. "I don't know what came over me. Why I decided to come out here at night..." She leaned back to look at him.

His angry blue eyes looked up at hers, and she felt a heavy pang of guilt. Now he looked like the child: terrified, angry, sulking. "I promise... I won't do it again."

Ranma looked at her with a piercing gaze she shuffled under. She looked down at the ground, and spoke quietly. "And Ranma... What happened at Jusendo..." Her eyes met his again. He looked wary. "You saved me, and you're still right: I _am_ safe here. Tonight was a fluke. Don't worry, I won't... I won't scare you like that again."

Ranma looked into the pale face of the girl in front of him. The infuriating, moronic, frustrating, beautiful, _alive_ girl in front of him. He suddenly felt guilty for going off on her. She was the one who just had the scare of her life, and here he was shouting at her. _"I don't think I could love someone who doesn't love me."_ Her words from before rang out suddenly in his head. He frowned, hesitating, then opened his mouth.

A cold wind suddenly picked up, making Akane shiver.

"I – We need to get you home," he said suddenly. His heart was beating quickly, but decided that now was not the time to revisit what she said to her friends.

"M-mm..." Akane mumbled, hugging herself. She stood, shakily, with Ranma's help, then blinked in surprise as he knelt in front of her.

"Get on my back. No way I'm letting you walk back, with your luck and sense of direction, who knows what you might run into next." Ranma smiled slyly, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. Akane smiled and hit him playfully on the shoulder, before reluctantly crawling onto his back. "I really don't know what came over me tonight." She held on as he stood up effortlessly, and led them safely back across the road and toward the residential streets. "But really, believe me... I'm sorry for scaring you."

* * *

It wasn't until she was back in her bed, curled up under her blankets, that she remembered the vision of Ranma and her playing in the field. She blushed, confused at first, and then angry that being distracted by the scene in her head had almost gotten her killed. _What was that anyway? Where did that come from? Why was it so absorbing?_

The details of the vision were blurry now – all she could remember was him turning to face her, spreading his arms, and mouthing something...

* * *

This is the first thing I've written in _years_ so I'm so satisfied getting these words down! After burning through all of Ranma 1/2, I've missed the relationship between Ranma and Akane dearly and part of me couldn't bear to see it end. So until I get it out of my system, I'll keep their love alive in my head and in non-profitable fan fiction (this can act as my disclaimer!).

My hope is that the finished story will end up as 10 chapters. I'm still getting back into the swing of writing, so hopefully we'll all see my language and sentence structure improving over the rest of the story.

Cheers! And lemme know what you think, if possible! :)


	2. Don't Make Me Fall For You

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
October 2015

 **Chapter 2: Don't Make Me Fall For You**

 _Her body was so fragile and tiny in his arms. So cold. He stared into her unseeing eyes, begging for some spark to ignite her pale face into the radiant life he longed to see again. He smiled, his lips quivering with the effort. "Hey," he whispered, sounding weak and lost like a child. "Hey, it's okay now. I... I love you. That means y- you never have to worry again. I'll take care of you. As long as I'm here...you'll be safe." She was so cold. So very, very cold._

 _He lifted her up in his arms, bringing their foreheads together. "I'll keep you safe. I won't let anything happen to you again... Akane..." She was so cold it was seeping into his arms, chilling him to the bone. He shivered and her body came apart in his arms. She dissolved into an icy smoke, washing over his face and arms while he looked on broken and hopeless. And then she was gone. And he was alone._

He awoke with a gasp, clutching at his blankets as he sat up. The window across the room was open, and winter air was flowing over him like an icy river. "Damn it, Pop!" Ranma scrambled to his feet and ran to the opening, slamming the window closed. It was his father's new way of making sure he woke up on time: leave the window open and let the elements freeze his son awake. _Just wait til I get up before you one of these days, Pops; you'll wake up in the pond outside. How's that for "nature's alarm clock"?_

Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo had been busy the last few weeks, repairing the dojo from the wreckage of the wedding. They had finally got it in shape, but to pay for the repairs they had started devoting more time to teaching at the dojo. Lately they had started leading classes for younger kids before school, so it required the two men to be up and ready even before Ranma. They weren't usually at breakfast during the weekdays, and he saw them mostly at dinner and on the weekend. _But that doesn't mean he has to leave the window open. I can set an alarm, old man..._

Ranma was about to turn away, but hesitated at the window. Down below exhaling frosty puffs of air as she worked through her morning exercises was the girl from his dreams. _Akane…_ There was a painful twinge in the bottom of his stomach.

It had been so long since his last Jusendo nightmare. He thought he had finally freed himself of the torture of seeing her lifeless body every night, and the bone gnawing guilt that followed when he woke up and remembered the dreams weren't far from reality. The nightmares had all been similar but never identical. Sometimes he heard her dying voice in his head, other times she stayed a doll forever, and still other times she woke up long enough to blame him before dying in his arms. Each had its own way of twisting a new dagger in his heart.

All this fear, this pain, it was all supposed to be over. He had brought Akane back safe from Jusendo and then everything had gone back to normal. _They_ were back to normal. Akane was supposed to be safe again.

 _Until..._ His fingers tightened on the window pane, already cold knuckles turning white. _Until last night. When she almost died again._ Seeing her lit up by those headlights had burned an image in his mind that wouldn't fade quickly.

Ranma shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He was being dramatic; the nightmare had shaken him up again, but he had to remember that they were home again and safe again. Last night was just an accident, and she was fine. He watched her as she continued to punish the winter air with her fists and kicks. The puffs of frost born from her breath came with every movement, and she was vibrant and unrelenting despite the frigid temperature. She was the vision of perfect health, and most certainly alive. He didn't have to worry about her.

And he wasn't worried about her again, until he was halfway down the stairs, dressed and hungry for breakfast, when he heard Akane scream.

"Akane!" He jumped the last four steps, and ran down the hall, feet thudding on the wooden floor. He threw himself into the doorway, and looked desperately into the backyard. "Aka—"

Akane was standing still in the middle of the lawn, her arms spread open, palms turned to the heavens. She was staring straight up at the sky, mouth hanging open just slightly. When she heard Ranma, she looked over at him. "It's snowing!" Her face broke into a grin. "Can you believe it?! We weren't supposed to get snow until next week, but look!" She turned her face back up to the sky, basking in the cold breeze. Snowflakes fell softly around her, and had already started covering the grass in patches.

After the thudding of his heart slowed down, Ranma took a breath and regarded her with a sullen look. "Don't only children get excited about snow?" _Don't scare me, cheee..._

She flashed him an unenthused expression. "I can get excited about snow if I want to, _Ranma_." She stuck her tongue out at him, and he scrunched up his nose.

"Jeeeeze, Akane you _are_ a child! It's only snow! I don't get the excitement." He crossed his arms across his chest, and rested against the door frame. He leaned out slightly, looking up at the sky. "Pop and I spent every winter trying to avoid the snow before coming here. With only a tent protecting you in the dead of winter, you learn to dislike the snow..." He shivered at the thought and leaned back inside, remembering a childhood of waking up with cold toes and fighting with his father for the last of the warm food.

Akane considered him, blinking. "Is that so? I've always loved the snow," she smiled, curling her arms around herself. "Mostly because I like being warm while watching it. I guess being stuck in a tent wouldn't be nearly as fun as curling up under the kotatsu."

Ranma shook his head. "No, and speaking of which, get inside before you freeze." Ranma slid off the door frame, and backed up toward the dining room, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Akane rolled her eyes and ignored him, smiling instead to herself in the snow. She caught a few snowflakes in her hands, and shivered as she looked around the yard admiring the new white accents to the grass and trees in the yard. Ranma couldn't help but smile as well. _Damn, maybe she's a little cute after all..._

At least she was happy, he thought as he sat down to eat. He had been worried that she might have been shaken up because of last night, but he was relieved to see her acting like herself. _Maybe even more happy than normal..._

Ranma turned his attention to the breakfast laid out on the table. Kasumi had scribbled a note for them to help themselves – she had left early to get ingredients from the market for dinner. Nabiki would be gone by now too; lately she had taken to leaving early to sell photos and engage in other business transactions before school.

He served himself breakfast and Akane eventually appeared next him at the table to start eating as well. "Isn't it too late to be running around outside anyway?" Speaking between bites, he continued, "We have school soon, what... are you... thinkin..." Akane glanced at him as she filled her bowl with food, puzzled by his pauses.

His breath caught in his throat. Up close, Akane's face was pale porcelain from the cold, but her cheeks were flushed and rosy from her workout, her lips a deep, dark red. Snowflakes dotted her dark hair in a frozen crown, and clung like crystals to the strands that lined her face. She was already cute, he decided, but the cold made her beautiful.

"Uh..." He started, feeling his face start to glow with warmth, and quickly turned away. "Anyway, what I mean is, we're gunna be late if you don't get dressed soon. And I'm not waiting for you!"

Akane was staring at him, so he ate hurriedly to cover his face.

"Um, okay, right." Her voice was suddenly quiet, timid. _What the...?_ Ranma watched as she stood up suddenly. She looked at him anxiously and Ranma stared, taken aback. "I'm going, I'll hurry. Just—don't leave!" She abandoned her breakfast in a flurry of movement, running up the stairs. _What was that reaction?_ He stared after her, blinking. It took him a second before he realized. Then he felt like an ass.

Upstairs, as Akane stuffed herself into her school uniform, she thought darkly about the streets they were going to run down to get to school. Never ominous before, today the streets felt like they would be physically impossible to get through. They'd pass within 20 feet of where Ranma saved her life, and she was _not_ excited to relive that moment.

Not that being held by Ranma was that bad.

The intrusive thought struck before she had time to push it down. After all, the only good thing about last night was how _close_ she had been to Ranma. She could still see his expression: rage twinged with worry, eyes full of distress, desperation lacing his voice. He had seemed so powerful and yet vulnerable as he yelled at her in the dark of the alley last night, shaking slightly. She had wanted to soothe him in that moment, to curl him up against her and hold him forever. She could still feel his strong hands on her shoulders, refusing to let her go. Not to mention when he was holding her head, touching her waist...

Her own hands came up to slap both her cheeks at once. "Snap out of it!" Akane shouted at herself, suddenly warm all over despite having just been out in the cold. "You need to go to school!" This was no time to daydream! She had to keep shouting at herself, or her mind would start to wander back to that moment, so close to death and yet feeling so alive as Ranma's hands brushed over her, his eyes sweeping over her face, his breath on her cheeks, so close to his lips...

"Ahh!" Akane grabbed her school bag. "Go! Go! Go!" It was like a mantra, helping to distract her as she wrenched open the door to her room. She heard a loud crash as she moved, and immediately tripped over a pigtailed boy crouched in her doorway.

"Whoa- hey!" Catching a falling Akane was second nature to him. Ranma easily scooped her up under the arms and stood up, bringing her up onto her feet with him. He looked at her cautiously. "You, er, ok?"

"Ranma?!" Akane looked at him wide-eyed, limp in his arms. "What are you-"

"It's not what it looks like!" he started hastily. "I just heard you shouting, and I..." He frowned, looking away. "I wanted to, um..." _Apologize. For threatening to leave you behind. The morning after you almost died on those same streets._ He opened his mouth.

"Let go!" She pushed him away, standing up on her own. Her face was red from her thoughts in her bedroom, and she felt weird being held again by him so soon. Like somehow being close to him he would be able to read her mind. She saw the look of confusion and hurt play on his face, and she hurriedly tried to defuse the situation. "No, um, I mean- it's fine! We just, we have to go, right?"

Ranma, concerned that she was still dwelling in fear about the run to school, excused her behavior and nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely. Let's go." He hesitated. "Er-"

Akane looked at him, worried he'd noticed her red cheeks. Instead he was looking past her, into her room. "What, uh, what'd you do?"

Confused, she looked over her shoulder. Where she had been standing moments before, her light fixture now lay shattered, glass decorating her carpet. The wires stretched down from the ceiling, dangling at eye level.

Ranma walked over to investigate, raising an eyebrow. "They look like they were chewed through or somethin'..." He nudged the rubber coating of one with his finger. When the exposed wire connected with the other end, a spark flew between them before they swung away.

"Whoa!" Ranma took a step back and looked over his shoulder at her. "These are live wires. Thank god you didn't touch 'em."

Akane looked at them quizzically. "What the...?" Puzzled, she shrugged, preoccupied with her thoughts. "It's an old house. I'll tell dad, I guess...?"

* * *

The snow had stopped falling by the time they were on their way to school. The pavement was wet and dark under the cover of clouds exhausted of water, slowly dispersing to reveal a cold sun up above.

They ran silently through the icy morning. Ranma had his hands tucked into his pockets, his face buried in a scarf, eyes trained on Akane down below him. He moved carefully on the fence, avoiding the icy patches. Akane had her bag in one hand, the other clenched against her stomach, keeping her jacket clasped tight around her to fight out the cold.

Ranma watched her hair bounce with her steps, as she left a trail of puffs in the air from her heavy breathing. He looked up ahead. They were getting close to the spot where he watched her turn off the path, stumbling into the night. He swallowed hard, and made up his mind.

He hopped down with ease, landing next to her as they ran. Although she made no move to acknowledge him, he saw her eyes snap down from the road up ahead, and instead to the ground in front of her.

"Hey, Akane." Ranma scooted closer to her. "I'm... I'm sorry, I threatened to leave without you this morning." Akane said nothing. He cleared his throat and kept going, "You know, I wouldn't let you do this alone. You're gunna be fine—"

"Of course I will," she snapped back, defensive. "I _am_ fine." Her grip tightened on her bag. "No way in hell am I going to let anything as stupid as that truck make me afraid to go outside." Her blood was pounding in her ears, and her heart was beating fast – and not all of it was from running.

Ranma regarded her warily. "Of... of course." He looked forward, and saw the entrance to the street she went down last night. As they got closer, he felt Akane tense next him. He watched her, concerned and sad for her. "Akane..." _The pain she must be going through..._

Akane took a deep breath, and balled her hands into fists. As they ran past, she suddenly shouted, empting her lungs in a cloud of rage. "YOU DON'T SCARE ME!" She looked like a bull, puffing air out of her nostrils in anger, glaring down the street. In the morning light it looked innocent and safe; a stark contrast to when it was lit up by headlights bearing down on her. And then they had gone past it, and it was behind them.

(A man further down the street jumped, and looked nervously over his shoulder at the noise, seeing no one there. He shuffled along, suspicious.)

Ranma watched her, wide-eyed, having jumped back when she suddenly yelled. Akane huffed and puffed, then stood up straighter as she ran. She pushed her hair out of her face, and smiled at Ranma. "There. All better."

He let out a weak laugh, shaking his head. "Atta tomboy."

"Don't call me that!" She swung her bag at him, but with less force than usual. She smiled slightly, and they ran the rest of the way to school in silence.

 _It's over_ , she told herself. _No more worries, no more fears._ She was going to move past that night, and not let it define her or scare her anymore.

She was safe now.

* * *

She might as well have been dead.

Her heart felt like it was in the bottom of a pit. Buried under 6 feet of dirt. And then spat on.

She looked shakily down at the piece of paper in her hands, moaning. "This is _terrible_!"

It was lunchtime, and Akane sat in depressed anguish on the roof of the school, Sayuri and Yuka joining in her misery. The day was sunny but freezing cold, and they sat bundled up and dejected in a corner of the roof, looking at their scores on the practice test Ms. Hinako had sprung on the class.

"No one scored higher than a 68," Yuka reminded them all gently. "There's no way she can keep the entire class behind during Christmas break, right?"

Sayuri groaned, "Of course she would! She's crazy! And this test is crazy!" She threw her arms up. "The test that ruined Christmas!"

"Ruined Christmas?!" Akane looked at her friends in desperation. Akane loved Christmas. She couldn't imagine spending her break inside a classroom, watching the snow fall outside the window while she was trapped in a room full of desks. She looked at her friends with fire in her eyes. "We have to study harder, that's all!" She grabbed their hands. "We'll renew our efforts, tenfold!"

Sayuri and Yuki exchanged a look, and sighed. "Maybe we should just enjoy the next few days and resign ourselves to failure..."

"Absolutely not!" Akane pleaded. "We'll book a study room for tomorrow night, we still have tonight too, and Thursday night as well..."

Sayuri sighed, resting her chin in her hands. "Of course Akane's driven to pass the test. After all, if we get our break you get to spend all those cold nights curled with _Ranma!_ "

With a start, Akane clapped her hand on Sayuri's mouth, a blush rising to her cheeks instantly. "Oh, shut up!" Her eyes darted across the roof.

Ranma sat with Daisuke and Hiroshi, the three boys mirroring the glum expressions of the three girls. Ranma bit sourly into his lunch, regarding his test with weary eyes, shoulders tense with the idea of missing his break because of this stupid test. Luckily though, it looked like he was so thoroughly absorbed into his misery that he hadn't heard Sayuri.

Sayuri tugged at Akane's hand as Yuka raised an eyebrow and leaned in, whispering, "Ooh is that it, Akane? Do you and Ranma cuddle up on cold nights together?" Akane furiously shushed her, shaking her head, but it only convinced Yuka further. "Ahhh, the life of being a young fiancée! Winter nights are the most romantic!"

Sayuri successfully removed Akane's hand, and continued. "Imagine having a man like that, Yuka! Curled up against his strong chest under a blanket, watching the fire burn low... The snow falling outside...! Eeee!"

The girls squealed, as Akane squirmed uncomfortably. "Shh, shh, it's not like that! It's not like we - I mean, we don't - he isn't..." Glowing with embarrassment, Akane looked down at the paper in her lap, praying Ranma couldn't hear them.

Why was she so uncomfortable? Was it because she didn't want her friends to have the wrong idea? Or because she was afraid Ranma would hear? _Or because..._ Her heart fluttered. Because she was afraid to _want_ that experience? To be curled up close, cozy and warm, comfortable pressed up against...

 _Ranma?_

She blinked quickly, staring down where he paper had been. A photo had appeared in her lap. It was her... and Ranma? It was a picture of them, their heads together, curled up together under a blanket. Ranma had his arm around her, and she had her hand on his chest. He was smiling down at her, her eyes lit up with something she had seen only a few times before: the look he got whenever they were alone and he let his guard down, when he would lean in and tell her she was cute, when she was so, _so_ sure he was about to kiss her...

Akane picked up the picture, bewildered, bringing it closer to her eyes in disbelief. _Where did this come from?! How is this possible?!_ She didn't remember this happening! When had her and Ranma ever been so close? She was confused, but also kind of...jealous. Jealous that such a memory could be so close, taunting her that such a thing had ever happened...

Quietly, in her ear, she heard Ranma whisper.

" _Akane?" She turned her face up to look at him. Reflected firelight danced across his eyes, and he smiled at her. "Do you... love me?"_

 _Her heart skipped a beat. Heat rose up in her cheeks, and she hid her face by snuggling in under his chin. She watched the fire flicker and sighed, feeling warm and safe. His strong arms were wrapped around her, and she could feel his warmth pouring into her. He was firm and solid beneath her fingertips, but so gentle in how he held her. "...You know I do." She mumbled into the blanket._

 _He laughed and she smiled. She loved his laugh, too. His fingers brushed hair away from her face, and made her shiver. He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. "Then die for me."_

"-looking at?"

Akane looked up, startled by the voice in front of her. She looked up, the image of Ranma's face swimming before her. She was blind except for seeing his smile. She opened her mouth, then felt the photo being torn from her hands as a strong wind picked it up.

A heavy fog had descended on the rooftop, making the details and faces around her appear faded and distant. All she could see was the photo of her and Ranma, sweeping away through the air like driftwood on the ocean. The photo of them... together...

"N..." She rose to her feet, a puppet whose strings were being pulled. "N-No!" Her feet moved before her brain, hands reaching out for the photo. She needed it – had to hold it – had to have it, had to have _him_...

" _Akane?!"_

The scream rang out across the rooftop, snapping Ranma's head up and out of the misery of academic failure.

Sayuri and Yuka had let out the scream, as they watched their dark haired friend sprint across the rooftop. Ranma was on his feet in a flash; it was a reflex now, when he heard her name spoken with such panic. _Aka-!_

Akane's test paper fluttered in the air, picked up by a strong winter wind. She was sprinting after it as it flapped just out of reach of her fingertips, pulling her forward. She clenched her teeth and jumped forward, trying to beat the wind.

"Ah-ha!" Her fingers finally found what they were looking for, and closed around the photo of her and Ranma. She pulled it in close to her, breathing a sigh of relief as she came to a stop. "Good, it's safe..."

"Akane!" The voice cut through the fog like a beacon, and the world snapped back into view.

"Wha...?" Suddenly she was back on the roof, looking over her shoulder at her friends and classmates as they all stared at her. Ranma was racing toward her, shouting. Akane gave him a puzzled smile, and tilted her head. _What are they all so nervous about? I caught it!_

"Akane!" Sayuri and Yuka called out. "Please, be careful!"

Confused, Akane looked down at her feet.

Beneath her was the railing that surrounded the roof. Solid ground was several stories below her, the distance distorted from her high position. Her heart rose into her throat. _I didn't even realize I jumped up here..._ The height was tremendous; had she ever really considered how high up she was all those lunches she spent up here?

And now she was balancing on the edge, quite literally. _So what!_ No matter: she was a martial artist! All she had to do was get down – the roof was behind her, and safety with it.

Ranma watched as Akane looked down at her feet and stiffened in fear. _What the hell is she thinkin'?!_ He ran toward her from across the roof, just hoping – praying – that she wouldn't try to –

Akane swiveled on the balls of her feet, turning her body around to face the roof. She bent her knees to jump down, when her heel slid on a patch of ice coating the railing, and she tipped backwards.

"You idiot!" He barked, leaping forward.

Her scream caught in her throat as she fell back, toward the grass lawn far, far below. She watched the roof disappear from her view, saw the sky high above her, felt the wind tugging at her clothes as she fell. The photo was still clenched between her fingers.

Then her head snapped back with a jolt, and she was looking down at the ground. She saw tiny students pointing up at her and jumping up and down. She blinked at them, realizing she wasn't getting any closer to them. In fact, she wasn't moving at all.

With effort, she raised her head to look up, and saw Ranma stretched out above her. "Ranma?"

He was clenching his teeth and seething. "You... _idiot!_ "

Ranma had caught her around the waist, just as his feet had wrapped around the lower rung of the roof's railing. Now he was stretched out along the side of the building, holding Akane to him, his strength keeping them both tethered to the roof.

Incredulous, she stared at him. "Ranma..." _Wow..._ "I-"

"What are you thinking!" He grunted, tightening his grip on her. "Why did you jump up there you _maniac_?!"

Akane glowered at him. Here she was, actually about to thank him, and he was insulting her! She waved her arm, a fist at the end, making them both teeter back and forth. "I wasn't jumping up there on purpose! I was just trying to get-" She blushed, and felt her other hand tighten around the photo.

"Hey! Stop moving, damnit. Moron..." With a grunt he pulled them both up to get his knees up far enough to latch on to the railing, then like a Chinese acrobat he flung them both up to the roof. To avoid shattering his kneecaps he had to jump up and off the railing, and landed with the grace of a martial artist squarely on the roof. He still held Akane by the waist.

He planted his hands on her hips, and twirled her around to face him, catching her by the hips again to stop her spinning. He leaned in close as she turned red.

"Akane, it doesn't matter how bad your score is – that's not enough reason to throw yourself off the roof! Just because you're embarrassed people may see it, chee..." He shook his head.

Akane smacked him on the shoulder, pulling out of his hands. " _No!_ That's not what I was chasing..." She looked down, embarrassed. Ranma stared at her.

"Then what was so important that you didn't realize you were about to jump off the school, hm? What's that paper?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to confess.

With hot cheeks, Akane thrust the photo at him, refusing to look at him. "You want to know?! Fine! Look at this!"

Ranma looked at what she gave him, and his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "What the..?!"

"D-Don't ask me where it came from! I don't know!" Akane glanced back at him, and saw his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Akane..." Ranma took a step toward her, closing the gap between them. He took her by the wrist, making her look up at him. Her eyes darted between his, and was surprised by the fire in his eyes. "Akane... You..."

He held the paper up next to him, and Akane saw a bright red '60%' drawn in Ms. Hinako's childish handwriting where Ranma's face had been in the photo moments before.

"You scored nearly 10% higher than I did! You _have_ to tell me how you did this. I don't know where it came from either, but you must know some study technique I don't..."

Confused, then shocked, then enraged, Akane snatched the paper from his hand, staring at it. She barely heard Ranma's snotty remarks on her intelligence as she flipped it back and forth in her hands. "What... No... The photo... Where did it... go...?"

Sayuri and Yuka were suddenly at her side, fawning over her. "Oh Akane! Are you okay?!"

"One test paper isn't a good reason to almost run off the roof!"

"You did really well, too! Don't feel bad!"

"Oh thank god Ranma was here to catch you – I thought you were going to _die!_ "

Ranma stepped back, letting the two scared friends have their time with Akane, but his eyes never left her face.

It was true; his heart had stopped when he saw her tumble backwards. For a split second he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to reach her in time; that she would tip out of sight and then be gone forever. He was grateful he had started running toward her when he had: a second later and either his arms would have missed her or his ankles would have missed the railing. The thought scared him. Despite him insulting her, just like when he was yelling at her last night too, he was scared for her. It was how he dealt with fear – how he always dealt with fear: yell at it until it went away.

The memory from this morning swam into his mind, as he watched Akane yell down that street again, and his present anger softened. They weren't too different from each other, were they?

But watching her face now was unsettling to him. She seemed unable to hear Yuka and Sayuri, and was focused on the paper in her hands. Her eyes were large and scared, and he saw her fingers turning white from holding onto the paper so tightly.

Something dawned on him, and he stepped forward. "Sayuri, Yuka." They stopped chattering and looked over at him. "Sorry, but I have to borrow Akane for a while, okay?" He flashed them a smile when it looked like they were about to argue, and took Akane by the hand.

Then he was leading her, fast-walking toward the door to get back inside. Akane trailed behind him without protest. He took her down the stairs of the school building without a word passing between them. _She's still holding that stupid paper_ , he thought darkly when he glanced over his shoulder at her as they rounded a corner in the stairwell. _The stupid paper that almost got her killed._

As they exited the building toward the school lunch yard, several students noticed them and started towards them.

"Akane!"

"Are you okay?"

"Saotome, what the hell just happened?!"

With a glance back to Akane, still absorbed in her paper, Ranma waved them off. "We're fine, she's fine – we just, uh, need to go to the nurse's office and make sure she's fine..."

One boy raised an eyebrow. "The nurse's office is the other way."

 _Shit._ Ranma looked around, flapping his mouth as he tried to find a way to get them to leave. "Oh, uh, well, we just need..." _To be alone..._ "To grab something from over here, first... Look, we just need to go now, bye!"

One girl squeaked, "Ooh they want some privacy! Look, they're holding hands!"

A small crowd had gathered when they noticed Akane and Ranma, and a murmur ran through the students. "They are!" "Holding hands? I mean they're engaged, they've done _way_ more than that I'm sure..." "Lunch is almost over, he doesn't need more time?" "Don't be so crude!"

"Jesus..." Ranma groaned, and looked at Akane. Her silence was not helping, as she staggered behind him like a doll, eyes trained solely on her test score paper. "It's not like that..."

"Ranma Soatome!" _Fuck._ Tatewaki Kuno pushed through the throng of students with his wooden sword, and carved through the air toward their clasped hands.

"Damn it!" Ranma pulled Akane back out of the way, and tucked her behind him. "Kuno! Get the hell out of here!" He glared at the older boy, patience quickly running out.

"Sneaking off with my beloved Akane Tendo!" Kuno continued, ignoring Ranma's words completely. "There will be no fraternizing of that nature on school grounds while I'm around! And certainly not with Akane!" He slashed at them again with his sword. "Now unhand her hand!"

Ranma pulled them both back again, and ducked under the sword. "Seriously, Kuno," Ranma's free hand came up and connected with the underside of Kuno's chin. "I am not in the mood to deal with you right now!"

As Kuno fell back into a couple of other male students, who growled at him as they were knocked over, Ranma took the distraction as an opportunity to sneak off. "C'mon, Akane!" He pulled her along after him, students shouting behind him.

They took off at a run, Akane keeping up with him despite being distracted by the paper in her hands. _What happened... to the photo,_ she thought numbly. And what was with that daydream? Was it a daydream? It had felt so real... _He_ had felt so real... She still felt dazed.

Ranma led them around a corner of the building, and ducked behind one of the isolated gym closets. Kuno, trailed by a few angry male students, went running by with screams of "Saotome!"

After a few more maneuvers, they rounded another corner and Ranma looked around to make sure no one else was near them. They were tucked away in a quiet part of the school yard, with a row of windows above them leading into classrooms that were mostly empty. When he didn't see anyone, he exhaled a sigh of relief.

Ranma finally let go of Akane's hand and turned to look at her. "Okay." He regarded her, concerned and annoyed at the same time. "Akane."

Akane was still staring at the page in front of her, and seemed completely unaware that Ranma was even in front of her. "Hey," Ranma frowned. No answer. "Hey." He waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Hey!" He tapped her on the forehead. "Hey! Akane!

"What happened up there? What's goin' on with you?" Still no answer. Fully frustrated by her silence, Ranma finally grabbed the paper and pulled it out of her hands, tossing it to the side. It drifted down to the ground next to them. "Listen to me, damnit! First, ya run in front of a truck, and then ya jump off a roof... What is going on with you lately?! Answer me!"

Brown eyes finally met his blue ones. He twitched. She was crying.

Guilt washed over him. "Hey..." He took her lightly by the shoulders. "I... I'm sorry." He looked down at the ground, feeling responsible for her sadness. "I'm not mad..." He shuffled his feet. "I just... I just want to know what you're thinking..."

Akane's small arms wrapped around his waist in a loose hug. He stiffened, standing upright, and let go of her shoulders. "Aka-" Her forehead landed on his shoulder and he saw a few tears drip onto the concrete.

"I think..." She sniffled, shaking her head. "I think I'm going crazy, Ranma."

Ranma stood there awkwardly as she cried softly against his shoulder. His hands were out to the side, fingers spread apart in panic of where to go. He hovered over her shoulders, then moved his hands down as if to hug her back, then moved back to her shoulders where he hesitated again. _What... What? What._

Akane, oblivious to Ranma's pathetic flailing, sniffled again. _What if I_ am _going crazy? After all, with those weird visions of me and Ranma together... Where are these coming from?!_ Akane stared down at the ground, watching her tears fall on the cold concrete. _And that photo..._ There was never any photo, she realized that now. She had completely imagined the whole thing. _Just like last night, when I saw us running together..._ But today it was the photo of them together, the night by the fire, and what was that last thing he had said to her? She had been snapped out of it as he was speaking, but she could see his lips moving -

Her tears were drowned out as water splash down onto the pavement. Her head fell a few inches as Ranma's shoulder dipped down. Just as suddenly, she was _freezing!_

Ranma had just been about to decide where to put his hands when the cold water had splashed down on them. Voices floated down to them from above. "Why do we have to be responsible for cleaning out these rooms, no one will even use them 'til after break!" "Be careful when you pour water out the window, someone might be down there!" "No one comes out here, we're fine."

Akane lifted her head, her hair dripping. Ranma had gotten most of the water, and was drenched. Suddenly in his female form, Ranma stood small and dripping in front of Akane. "O-Oh man!" She hugged herself, starting to shiver. "S-S-S-So cold..."

"Ranma?" Akane blinked her tears away, and suddenly she realized her arms were around him. She pulled back abruptly, eyes wide, arms coming in close to her body. "Oh! Sorry! I-I just, um... Sorry for crying!" She spluttered out, embarrassed.

"N-N-No, A-Akane!" Ranma spoke through her chattering teeth. "D-Don't apologize!" She shook her head, trying to get some water out of her braid that was slowly dripping down her back. "B-but what did you mean, you think y-y-you're going c-crazy?"

Akane hesitated.

Did she tell him? She watched him, shivering, looking up at her now, confusion in those blue eyes. She opened her mouth.

The bell for the end of lunch sounded, and Akane shut her mouth closed. "Um.

"We should get back to class," she said dismissively, looking away from Ranma. "You need to get some hot water before class, too." Akane looked back with a weak smile on her face, and bent down, picking up her paper. "I'll see you in class, okay?"

Ranma was hurt. "A-Akane..." _You can tell me..._

Without another word, she was off. Her heartbeat was in her ears. There was no way she could tell him; it was too embarrassing to talk about what she'd seen! What would she even say? _"Ranma, I keep seeing scenes of us together, and then I almost die."_ She felt a chill run down her spine. What the hell was going on with her? There was no way those were connected... But some part of her felt sick at the idea and how well the pieces seemed to fit together.

 _No,_ she decided. _It's all in my head._ It was best if she didn't share her ideas with anyone; they'd think she was crazy. _She_ thought she was crazy. "Just forget it," she whispered to herself as she ran back to class.

* * *

The rest of the school day dragged on. All the students in class were angry at Ms. Hinako, and Ms. Hinako was disappointed in all the students for performing so badly. She went on and on about how everyone needed to study harder or they'd be spending their break inside with her, but one student was hardly paying attention.

Instead, the dark haired boy – back in his male form after a quick rendezvous with a tea kettle – was distracted by a certain girl. He watched Akane carefully out of the corner of his eye. She had managed to dry her hair quickly before class, and was now sitting inconspicuously at her desk. A few of their peers had been intensely questioning her when he walked in, but she had convinced them with a few well-placed smiles that she had just been so focused on getting her paper back from the wind that she hadn't noticed it was bringing her over the edge of the roof.

But Ranma had been thinking, and he clearly remembered her mentioning something about a photo, right after he told her it was nothing but her graded test. He frowned, playing with a pencil between his teeth.

Class finally ended with Ms. Hinako's last warning to the students to increase their studying, and the sounds of packing up echoed around him.

"Psst, Ranma!" Ranma looked over his shoulder as Ukyo leaned in over her desk. "Are we still on for studying tonight?" She grinned, tilting her head. "We can snack on some more okonomiyaki, on me!"

"Ahh..." Ranma stood up, scratching his cheek. "Uh, well..." He reached out, grabbing Akane by the shoulder.

"What the—" Akane found herself being pulled up against Ranma.

"I already promised Akane I'd help her study." Ranma put on a haughty air, shrugging like he was doing Akane a great service. "After all, the poor tomboy almost jumped off a roof to keep her score a secret, so I told her I'd help her study."

Akane tensed up next to him, furious at the lie. "What!" she yelled, pushing against him. "Who wants to study with you? Besides, you told me during lunch that -"

Ranma laughed loudly, startling both girls. "Anyway, anyway," he released Akane, and stepped up to Ukyo. "We'll have to enjoy okonomiyaki together some other time, okay." He clapped her on the shoulder. _If Akane can act weird, so can I._

Ukyo frowned sourly at him. Akane was fuming behind him.

As Akane angrily gathered up her stuff, Sayuri and Yuka slid up next to her. Yuka touched her gently on the arm. "Akane? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Sayuri added, "you were acting really weird up there. Is there anything you need to talk about?"

Akane smiled at her friends, and nodded. "Mm! I'm fine. Thank you guys." She appreciated their concern, and felt a small pang of guilt that she wasn't willing to share with them her idea of what was happening to her. It was just too ridiculous, and what were the changes anything like that would happen again? "Are we still on for studying tonight?"

"We-ell," Sayuri started, glancing at Yuka. "I mean, we just heard Ranma say you two were studying together, right? And after how you two took off during lunch, I mean..."

"...Maybe you guys need some private time to 'study' tonight," Yuka giggled, finishing the thought.

Akane glowed a furious red as denials started pouring out of her mouth. "I-It's not like that...!"

A gloomy Ukyo passed them, and shot Akane a glare. "Don't waste Ranma honey's time tonight, _Akane._ He needs to pass that test too, and if you make him fail I'll never forgive you for making him miss celebrating Christmas break with me!"

Akane glared back at Ukyo, opening her mouth to argue, when Ranma appeared behind her, and clapped a hand over her mouth. "O-kay Ukyo! We'll study hard, okay, haha, byeee!" Ukyo regarded him suspiciously, but left quietly.

His hand was wrenched off her mouth. "Ranma!" Akane scolded him.

"Okay Akane," her friends giggled, already heading toward the door. "Tell you what, we'll book a study room for us all tomorrow night, but for tonight we'll let you and Ranma study alone, okay?" They winked, and then disappeared around the corner.

Akane stared after them. After a moment, she whipped around to look at Ranma. "Ranma!"

He had his hands on the back of his head, elbows up in the air. "What?" He asked slyly, looking away. She glared at him. "Why'd you lie to Ukyo like that? You told me earlier that I did better than you on the test! And now Sayuri and Yuka aren't coming over, either..."

He shrugged, ignoring her question. It's not like he could actually tell her the truth: that he was worried about her safety. _After last night, and then today..._ Ranma couldn't help but feel that if he hadn't been nearby, Akane would have died twice over by now. So if keeping her safe meant being around her all the time, well, then he'd just have to stay close. "Well that's not my fault, why'd they decide not to come too?"

"Well, they thought- Uh. Well." She started to blush, so she looked down at her bag, grabbing it. "Anyway, now I'm stuck with you, whether I like it or not. So you better be serious about studying, because if you distract me, I swear—"

"Right, right," Ranma drawled, grabbing his bag too. "Let's just get home and hit the books then, hm?"

He started for the door. Akane watched him walk away, trying to decide if it was a good or bad thing that she'd be studying alone with Ranma tonight. They had never actually studied together before, so she didn't know what to expect.

Akane realized he was staring back at her. "What?" She snapped.

"Are ya comin'?" Ranma perked an eyebrow up at her, smirking. "Or do I need to hold your hand again?"

She glowered at him, a pink hue rising in her cheeks, and walked forward. "No one asked you to!" She swatted at him with her bag, which he easily stepped away from, and stalked out of the room. Ranma rolled his eyes, and followed her out.

 _She might be safer with me nearby, but how safe I am near her?_

* * *

Chapter 2 is done! I got this one up in about 10 days, which was longer than I wanted but hopefully not too long of a waiting time. The next chapter should be up in about the same amount of time (hopefully sooner, but no promises). I struggled with this chapter a bit. I hope it wasn't too much of a ramble. The next chapter should be more focused. I felt like this one had some flow problems, but I tried my best to fix it up. At a certain point I decided I'd have to live with it and move on, or it'd never see the light of day!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought!

Cheers!


	3. Kissed by the Cold

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
December 2015

 **Chapter 3: Kissed by the Cold**

A gasp rippled through the dining room.

"Whaaat?!"

"Are you alright?"

"That's terrible!"

"Akaaaaneeeee," her father moaned, collapsing as he clutched at her shoulders.

The Tendo family and three guests sat at the dinner table. It had been a quiet night so far: Akane mentioned the wiring in her room needed fixing, Kasumi had talked happily about seeing Dr. Tofu before he'd walked right into a wall, Nodoka was talking about ongoing repairs at the Soatome house... Until Nabiki had mentioned the events that had taken place at school.

Akane rolled her eyes, pushing at her father with her elbow. "Dad, off. I'm fine." Akane had wanted to avoid this exact reaction, and had purposefully evaded mentioning the events that took place on the roof. _Trust Nabiki to know everything, and how to use it to start trouble..._

Eyes watering, Soun Tendo looked tearfully at his youngest. "Akaaane, don't sigh this off! If you'd fallen—the roof is so dangerous—"

Nabiki sat smugly, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. Her voice dripped with false concern as she said, "It was _most_ terrifying father."

Akane shot her sister a look through slitted eyes. "Hey sis, were you even worried…?"

A shrill laugh burst out, and was cut off quickly by a deadpanned, "No. Ranma was there to save your clumsy ass, after all."

The youngest girl started to protest, when the volume of Soun's fatherly concern interrupted her.

"That's right!" In a flash he was clutching Ranma's hands – the latter of whom dropped his chopsticks in the process – and bowing his head vigorously and repeatedly. "Thank you! Ranma, my boy," he looked at him fiercely, making Ranma frown uncomfortably. Ranma tugged his hands out of his grasp. "You have proven yet again how worthy you are to inherit and continue the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and—"

"Even more than that," Nodoka Saotome pointed out, "you've shown what a capable man you are to take care of your dear fiancée!"

"Yes!" Genma Soatome burst out abruptly, eager to back up his wife. She'd caught him sleeping under the kotatsu earlier when he should have been teaching a class, so he was working hard to get back in her good graces. "Only a true man could protect Akane!"

SLAM.

Akane cut off the conversation by banging her hands down flat on the table. The other six heads turned to look at her. "And who needs protection?! How dare you all talk about me like I need saving!" She jumped to her feet in anger, her posture daring anyone to question her strength. "I would have been fine without Ranma! I didn't even need his help, I could've taken care of myself just fine! It was practically his fault in the first... place..." She mumbled the last few words, remembering the photo she had – what, hallucinated? –, reluctant to mention that detail to the room full of family.

Ranma scowled at the accusation, ready to argue back when Nabiki spoke up first.

"Ohh?" Nabiki questioned, both eyebrows going up this time. She sneered at her sister, "Oh so you're going to blame Ranma for your own lack of coordination? And how would you have saved yourself – are you secretly Spider Man, and were planning to climb back up?"

Akane balled her hands into fists. "You make me sound helpless! I would have been fine!" Her eyes shot daggers in Ranma's direction, surprising him and infuriating him at the same time. _How the hell is this my fault? How does she get off getting mad at me?_ Ranma fumed silently. "I would have caught myself a second later! I would have!" Her protests were loud, but sounded weak even to her ears.

"Hmph." Ranma looked away from her, picking up his chopsticks to resume eating. He felt like a cat with its hair on end, pissed but pretending it didn't bother him. "Is that so? Fine. Next time I'll let you fall and we'll _all_ see how you getyourself out of trouble. For once."

Hot anger swept through her veins. "How dare you! I—"

"Akane." The quietest voice at the table finally spoke up. Though gentle, it was enough to silence Akane's rage.

Kasumi chirped, "I think we should start clearing dishes from the table." Smiling genially, Kasumi rose gracefully to her feet. "Would you help me?"

With a last glare and a "hmph!" of frustration, Akane sullenly grabbed empty dishes, noticeably picking up Ranma's plate as he scrambled to grab what food off of it he could. She stuck her tongue out at him, and stormed into the kitchen, as he glared at her retreating back.

 _That right there is the definition of ungrateful,_ he thought grumpily, picking at what was left in his bowl. To think how worried he'd been for her... _Stupid tomboy!_

Smiling and following suit, Kasumi plucked her father's plate off the table. "Oh, Kasumi dear," he said timidly, "I actually wasn't done-"

The look she gave him made him recoil. "I think you are, father." Through her smile was pleasant, the look in her eyes filled him with shame. Kasumi didn't get angry, but she knew when to make her father realize he was being thoughtless. He hung his head in shame, 'boo-hooing' quietly as Genma patted his back.

Kasumi exited gracefully, pushing aside the curtain to the kitchen, and saw a furious Akane bent over the sink, dropping the dishes in roughly.

 _What do they know!_ Akane could feel her blood pounding in anger. _I'm a martial artist too! Stupid dad, talking about Ranma inheriting the school all the time! It's the_ Tendo _school! And I'm the only Tendo who would keep it as a dojo..._ She angrily turned on the water, nearly breaking the handle. How dare all of them! Talk about her like she was some frail child. _So what if Ranma caught me! I would have been fine on my own... I mean, probably, I could have grabbed a hand hold, or something!_

"Akane?" Kasumi appeared behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

Akane looked up at her sheepishly. "... Sorry to disturb dinner." She gently turned the tap off.

Kasumi shook her head dismissively and looked at her, concerned. "Are you really okay?" Kasumi looked so much like their mother dressed in her apron, looking at Akane with love and worry on her face. There was no judgment with Kasumi when it came to her love for family.

Caving in to the sisterly love, Akane put on her bravest smile. "I am! It was scary at the time, but I really am fine now. Thank you Kasumi."

Kasumi gave her a knowing smile, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that. But is it really me you should be thanking?"

Confused, Akane blinked at her. "What? Who else should I be thanking?" She thought back to the group around the table. "Everyone else was being so mean to me!"

"Father speaks without thinking sometimes, but you know that everything he says comes from a place of love. But I'm not talking about dinner, Akane." Kasumi leaned in to look at her sister, whispering, "Did you ever thank Ranma for being there, on the roof? You may be capable of saving yourself, but he did save you this time." She smiled pleasantly.

Akane frowned, looking away from her sister's earnest eyes. "Why should I..."

Kasumi just smiled, and started walking away. "I imagine that if you think long enough, you'll find a reason."

She watched her sister disappear through the doorway, and frowned to herself.

* * *

"Ranma, there's no way you can actually read like that and retain anything."

After dinner, her father had apologized for being dramatic, and agreed to go work on the wiring in her room to fix her light fixture. While he did that however, Akane and Ranma had had to find a replacement room to study in.

Nabiki, whose teacher had decided the rest of the week would be easy days leading up to winter break, was watching television in the dining room. Kasumi was cooking in the kitchen, preparing the next day's lunches. Genma and Nodoka were in their room, Nodoka reprimanding her husband for missing a class while Genma wished he could hide as an ignorant panda.

So with nowhere else to turn to, Akane and Ranma settled into the dojo for a night of studying. Now they sat in the middle of the dojo, school books and papers spread out around them. Ranma was on his back, hands behind his head, doing crunches as a book rested against his legs. Akane looked doubtfully at him, pencil in hand, laying on her stomach as she worked through practice problems.

Ranma exhaled as he sat up into a crunch. "Nonsense, I can read just fine. Besides," he lowered himself down, then back up, "if I stay still for too long reading this crap I'll fall asleep. I'm not some bookworm like _you_ are, apparently."

An eraser hit the back of his head, hard. "Ow!" He whipped around to look at Akane. She had another eraser in her fingers, and flicked it, just like the last one. This time it smacked him in the forehead. "Quit it!" He scowled, rubbing the forming bruise.

"Then quit insulting me. And quit distracting me!" She put her head in her hands, looking down at the practice problems. "How am I supposed to study with you moving all the time? Besides, you should be nicer to me after I offered to help you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there," Ranma rolled over onto his stomach with a 'hup!', catching his book as it fell. "I don't recall you _offering_ anything." He laid it out in front of him. "And you haven't really helped me with anything yet, but to tell me to read the books again..."

"Well that's because I took a look at your notes!" Akane picked up a few crumpled pieces of lined paper, thrusting them at his face. "Your notes are just doodles and food stains. No wonder you failed."

Ranma pulled them down out of his face, frowning. "You failed, too."

"But not as bad."

"Still failed."

Akane glared at him, and he stared defiantly back.

"... Fine." She huffed, grabbing her own notes, sliding them over to him. "If the books aren't helping, then read my notes, and re-do your own. Copy them over, but change the wording so you know you're actually reading and understanding what it says. And no more crunches!" She shot him a look, and was surprised to see him looking so serious.

"Okay," he agreed. She watched him reach for a pencil and new paper.

She stared at him. "Wait, that's it?"

"Yeah."

"No arguments?"

"No!"

Ranma looked over at her, annoyed. "Regardless of what you think, I'm not always trying to be difficult. Besides, I want to pass this test as much as you do." He flipped to the start of her notes. "Thanks for this, by the way."

He started scrawling a copy of her notes as she looked on, surprised. She and Ranma had never studied together before, and it was weird to see him still and quiet for once. He was focused on the papers in front of him as he transferred the notes over. _And he said thank you..._

Her mind wandered back to her conversation with Kasumi earlier. It was only when Kasumi asked that Akane realized with a start that _no,_ she hadn't thanked him. At all. Not even when he pulled her down off the roof and got her alone to check in with her. The closest she had come was apologizing for crying.

Akane watched him now, as he used one hand to prop his chin up, the other writing diligently. She watched as his eyes moved over her handwriting, neat and small, then looked to his own paper where his handwriting was large and crude. It made her smile.

When it came to martial arts, Ranma moved with a practiced diligence that made him look flawless. His body was trained for nothing but martial arts. Things that were easy for him were so difficult for anyone else that sometimes she was actually frightened by the things he could manage. It was almost godly the way he moved, capable of impossible feats.

When Ranma was drawn into a fight, focused on winning and doing everything physically possible to win, those were the moments she felt small compared to him. She watched him in those moments, and was amazed. And insecure. Insecure about her own abilities, yes, but also... _It's stupid._

She was also insecure about how she fit into his life. Here he was, this godly, unreachable figure of strength and power, and here she was, falling off roofs and walking into trucks. Regardless of how she felt about him, regardless if she loved him or not, what part of her deserved his attention? It made her wonder if she could keep up with him.

But looking at him now, as he chewed on the end of his pencil, struggled to spell, frowned when his math didn't add up, made him look human and flawed and normal and... _attainable_. Like maybe he wasn't this inhuman creature she could never hope to have, but maybe he was actually just a boy. A boy she could be allowed to like, and into whose life she might actually fit.

She saw him look up at her, and she looked back, blinking.

"What are you staring at?" Ranma raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What, are you into this whole nerdy bookworm thing? This a turn on for you?"

"Shut up," she said, flicking another eraser at his face. This time he caught it, and feinted throwing it back at her, making her wince. She glared at him as he laughed.

"Shut it, I swear!" He grinned at her, letting the eraser hit the floor.

"Then stop watching me study and hit the books yourself." Ranma looked back down, picking his pencil back up. "No way I'm spending my break inside." He glanced up at her, goading her. "After all... If I'm inside, who's going to save you the next time you jump off a building?"

Her hand moved, and Ranma quickly lifted his hands up to catch an eraser heading his way. But nothing came.

He lowered her hands slightly, and saw she had turned her head sideways to regard him, her chin in her hand. "Ohh... Is that so? Is that a promise to keep saving me?"

He couldn't figure out why but, even though he had said it to tease her, her response surprised him and made him feel warm. He fidgeted under her gaze. "Uh, er, I..."

"In that case,"Akane relaxed, and smiled at him. "Thanks, Ranma. For saving me. And for future savings."

He froze under her smile, feeling his face warm up. That smile was beautiful. It made him want to reach out and touch her, feel her lips under his thumb...

He was up on his knees before he knew his body was moving. Akane gasped his name as a question, the distance between them suddenly greatly reduced. His hands were in front of him on the floor, and he was leaning toward her. As he watched, her cheeks grew pink. "Aka-"

"Akane!" A sing-song voice split the air, the door to the dojo sliding open. "I fixed the lights in your room, looks like a crack in the roof made it rub together every time we had a windstorm, and the wires slowly just got frayed –" Soun Tendo paused at the door, regarding the scene in front of him. "E-Ehh? Is this... really the best way to study?"

Akane was sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands tucked firmly in her lap. Her shoulders were up around her ears, her back to Ranma. Ranma, meanwhile, was on his side, a textbook so firmly lodged against his face it appeared stuck there, defying gravity as it clung to his face. He looked annoyed; she looked embarrassed.

"Dad!" Akane exclaimed, startling him. "Thank you! But we have to get back to work. So – so please go!"

The textbook finally hit the floor, and Ranma sat up, rubbing his cheek, looking cranky.

Soun looked them over, and slowly backed out of the room. He shut the door in front of him, and stared at it.

"...That girl does everything intensely... Even studying..." He heard voices floating out, as the two picked up a new argument. "Ranma... Stay strong..."

* * *

As the night went on, the cold air threatened a storm. By the next morning, several inches of snow had fallen, covering the roads and making the daily commute a bitterly cold struggle. As the afternoon passed, winter loomed outside the classroom windows as the snow fell steadily throughout the day. Inside, however, the students were trapped by the test that stood between them and a carefree Christmas break.

Ranma yawned, eyes glazing over, ears tuning out the end of Ms. Hinako's lecture.

Akane glanced at him as he yawned again. "Don't be such a baby," she whispered.

"Hmph." Ranma looked over at her through watery eyes, and whispered harshly, "It's your fault! You're a cruel tutor. Sleep deprivation isn't a good study technique, y'know."

She scoffed under breath, "It's not my fault! I had no idea you were so behind."

Their study session last night had taken a turn for the long haul. Ranma's slacking off during class was finally coming back to haunt him. When Akane saw his first attempt at a practice test, she laughed in his face, then grew gravely worried he would actually fail the test.

So they had ended up staying up most of the night to work through the problems again, with Ranma needing frequent breaks to run around to keep himself awake. It had gone well for the most part; until Ranma started to catch on, and their roles were reversed as he started pointing out Akane's mistakes. While it led to a lot of yelling (making the rest of the Tendo and Saotome families grateful they were out in the dojo instead of in the main house), it ended up being a useful study session for the both of them.

Ranma gave Akane a grumpy face. "I wasn't the only one who needed help!" He turned back to face the front of the room, pouting like a sleepy child. "School is stupid," he mumbled sleepily. "Martial artists don't need to know math or history or spelling... It's useless to spend so much time on this stupid stuff..."

"Maybe not," Akane whispered back, "but you're a student too, and students need to know this stuff to get their winter breaks." She was frustrated with his attitude. He was obviously cranky because it was difficult material and he was struggling for the first time in his life, but it was annoying to see when she was working so hard to help him study!

She was about to get angry until she saw him struggling to stifle another yawn, and felt guilt wash over her instead. She felt bad that he was so sleepy. She was sleepy too, but he had definitely worked harder last night to catch up. And he did eventually point out her mistakes too, and as much as she hated him for it, it had been helpful...

As Ms. Hinako dismissed the class, and the sound of students shuffling filled the air, Akane punched Ranma in the arm.

"Hey!" He rubbed the spot – even her light punches were hard – and glared at her. "What was that for?" Akane was looking at him guiltily.

"S-Sorry, that was harder than I meant to, but, uh," she was acting fidgety, and it made his eyebrows rise in surprise. "Well," she huffed, looking away, "you did great last night. You made a lot of progress. You... you should be proud." She shot him looks out of the corner of her eye as she spoke, trying to judge his reaction.

Ranma just stared at her. "Akane..." He grinned, realizing what she was trying to do. "Are you comforting me? Think that I need your encouragement, hmm?" He could see her anger rising, so he quickly leaned in, and grinned at her. "Akane, 'Sank you."

Akane leaned away from him, turning red. "Y-You don't need a bigger head after all I guess! You're fine!"

He laughed. "Yeah, I am. But really, thanks for the help. I feel better already." It felt like when she encouraged him before a fight, her small way of letting him know she cared. "Anyway, about studying again tonight-"

"Oh," Akane started quickly, embarrassed. The idea that Ranma wanted to study together again made her pleasantly surprised. "Oh. Well, I-I can't tonight. I mean, I told Sayuri and Yuka – we have a study room and..." Akane knew they were going to grill her about studying with Ranma the night before, and she didn't want to risk giving them the wrong impression by bringing him along. _Not that anything happened! Why do I feel like I still have to explain myself?! And what even is the wrong impression..._ The whole idea of being in a small room with Ranma and two girls who loved to discuss romance made her very nervous.

Lost in thought, Akane missed the look that passed Ranma's face. He felt some uncomfortable disappointment that he had just assumed that they were going to study together again. It was clearly a onetime thing wasn't it? They hadn't even really planned it... He had just arranged it yesterday because he wanted to keep an eye on her, but she was fine today... As the excuses filled his mind, he felt confused about the whole thing, and embarrassed about his expectations. He was embarrassed to admit that he had actually enjoyed spending the time alone with her.

"Oh – of course," he started, back-tracking. He lied quickly, "I wasn't going to suggest that! I was going to say that I promised Ucchan we'd study together, so..." He trailed off.

"Oh." Akane wasn't looking at him. "Right. I get it." She twisted her hands around each other.

Shit. He blew it. "Akane-"

"No, no. That's good. Good. Hopefully the cute fiancée can help you more." In an embarrassed huff, believing she'd just made a fool of herself, Akane grabbed her bag in one hand, heading towards that door in an almost sprint. "See you later."

Ranma reached after her, trying to stop her as he called her name, but a tug on his other arm pulled him back. He looked over his shoulder at Ukyo, who was clinging tightly to his arm.

"She's right, Ranma hon." She grinned up at him. "I've got a new recipe of okonomiyaki to try out, but you have to do a practice test first. So we better get to studying!"

Ranma glanced at the door of the classroom, and saw Akane had already left. Sayuri and Yuka were gone too.

"Uh, yeah..." Why did he feel so bad? "Let's go, Ucchan."

* * *

Hours later darkness covered the sleepy town. The snow had yet to let up, and was falling steadily onto the ground far below. Making their way toward home, a lone figure struggled through the snow.

Breath coming in frosty clouds, Akane hummed into her scarf, hands tucked deeply into her pockets. She was shivering, despite the extra coat she had worn today. It wasn't her normal winter coat, however – the storm appeared out of nowhere last night and the Tendo winter clothes were still stored in the attic. Kasumi had promised to dig them out today, so tomorrow her walk would be warmer.

But for now, Akane trudged alone, fighting off the cold by pretending she couldn't feel it, and distracting herself with practice problems in her head. Although not the most dedicated student in the world, Akane _was_ dedicated to Christmas and refused to let this test get the better of her. That, and she refused to admit that she was worried that Ranma might score higher than her on the exam. She would never live that down, so that meant she would have to study just a little harder.

When they finally made it to the study room, the questions Akane had been expecting from her friends burst forth. After explaining that studying with Ranma was nothing special, and fending off questions about their relationship, Akane had finally refocused the study group and made them all study until late.

Eventually Sayuri and Yuka had gotten tired and went home, but Akane stayed behind. Her friends had started to argue when she told them she would stay late alone – so to make them agree, she promised to call home when she left the school. The idea that she would have to face Ranma after the confusion in the classroom mortified her, so she preferred to stay late and hope he would get home before her and go to bed. Upsettingly, however, when she had finally decided to leave school and called home, Kasumi told her that Ranma hadn't come home yet. That had hurt.

"What was that, even..." She sighed, eyes focusing on the ground. She had been so happy when he suggested – or when she _thought_ he suggested – that they study together again. To think that she was so awkward when she told him she couldn't... Then, to find out he was just letting her know that he would be with Ukyo...

"Ranma... You idiot!" She grumbled, kicking a snow drift in front of her.

Why did she even bother getting excited? Last night wasn't anything special – they were just two people, studying together. _It's not like anything would happen, anyway..._

Suddenly, Akane remembered that look he had given her last night, after she had thanked him in the dojo. When he had suddenly approached her like that, his body rising towards hers, his lips parting slightly, his eyes focused so intently on her own... His eyes were so blue, so intense...

Akane buried her face in her scarf, trying to hide her blush from herself. Now that had been unexpected. She shuffled along in the snow, suddenly feeling warm from the inside out. In that moment...

 _I was so sure he was about to kiss me..._

As the cold seeped in through her uniform, her legs started to feel sluggish, but she trudged onward.

 _And it's not like it would be the first time he tried..._

Her arms started to weigh on her, dragging her down.

 _There was also the time in the closet..._

Her vision was going dark, she was blinking more and more, struggling to see through the snow in front of her...

 _And when I dared him to kiss me and he put me on his lap... How long ago was that...?_

" _Too long,"_ Ranma answered, a whisper in her ear.

* * *

"Shit!" The front door opened in a flurry of wind and snow, and slammed shut behind a hunched figure that was hopping from foot to foot. "Cold! _Cold!_ It's so fuckin' cold!"

Ranma shook himself, rubbing his arms to warm himself, scattering snow onto the floor. "Kasumi?" He shouted, working on getting his shoes off, mind already on the kotatsu. "Did you get our coats out yet?"

He heard the patter of Kasumi's feet, noticing dimly that she was running, then she appeared around the corner, her face worried. She looked at him, then her face fell.

Ranma took one look at her expression, then checked the shoes by the door. Akane's were missing. He looked back up at her, standing up straight.

"Where is she?"

"She called almost an hour ago – the walk, even in the snow, should only be 30 minutes at most..."

Kasumi had hardly gotten the words out before Ranma was out the door again, plunging into the very cold he had just escaped.

By the time he found her, she was just another snow-dusted mound by the side of the road, only her school uniform peeking out indicating that there was a person there, curled up into a ball, slowly freezing.

Blood pounded in his ears, and his whole body felt numb – and not from the cold.

Huffing from running, Ranma fell to his knees by her side. He grabbed her and pulled her up off the concrete and up against him. "Akane! Akane? Akane, Akane..." He couldn't stop saying her name, praying she would open her eyes. He looked into her pale face, and his stomach sank. He wiped snow off her face, putting their foreheads together. "Akane..." She felt like ice. "No, no, no, no..."

The snow in her hair reminded him of the snowflakes she had worn like a crown just yesterday, when she had been laughing in the garden, arms spread wide, so full of life... It was a bitter and stark contrast to her cold and lifeless body now. Only the little struggled bursts of frosty breath that escaped from her pale blue lips gave any indication that she was still alive. "God, Akane..."

With one arm holding her against him, he shrugged off his coat with the other. He wrapped her up in it, cradling her against him as he put an arm under her knees, and lifted her up and out of the snow. "Akane, it's going to be okay."

His mind was going crazy, thoughts racing – but at the same time he could think of nothing but getting Akane to safety. Holding her like she was made of glass, Ranma carried her home like he had so many times before.

* * *

The night stretched on, and one by one everyone left her bedside to go to sleep.

Akane was in her bed, an electric blanket and several comforters covering her. Her temperature was still low, but much better than it had been when Ranma had come bursting into the house with her in his arms, yelling for help. Kasumi had swept in like a mother hen, and instructed everyone on how to contribute to getting Akane warm. It had been a few hours since he had brought her home, but she had yet to wake up or show any more signs of life besides breathing.

Kasumi was the last one to leave, pausing at the door to look at Ranma. "Promise me you won't stay up too late, Ranma. She'll be okay."

"Goodnight, Kasumi," he answered, promising nothing.

She left, and then they were alone.

Ranma looked down painfully into the still face below him. He heard the clock tick slowly behind him, each second without movement dragging on. He brushed a strand of hair off her face. He tugged the blanket up to cover more of her neck. He made sure the electric blanket was still on. He sighed.

Akane was the only one who could make him feel small. She was the only one who made him feel human and weak like this. Looking at her, lying still and pale and silent, confronted him with his own helplessness in a way that nothing and no else could. And Ranma Soatome did not accept his own mortality often or easily. It was only when he failed her that he saw his limits. Fights were easy. Battles were easy. Winning came naturally. But somehow he always managed to mix her up in his problems, and she was one who got hurt.

He clenched the bedspread that was between his fingers. He was only as good as his ability to keep her safe. He had decided this long ago – maybe even back with the first time he picked her up and pulled her out of danger in the first week of meeting her. But it hadn't been until Jusendo he had realized it, and put it in into words. When he held her clothes, before he saw her as a doll, when he thought she was gone forever... it was the first time he had questioned what good his life was, without her. What good were all those years practicing and learning and honing his martial arts skills, if he wasn't able to keep one girl safe? Those few hours without her had been the most bleak and empty of his life.

And now... was he doomed to go to that place again? He leaned over her, looking desperately into her face. "Akane," he whispered. _I'll keep you safe. I'll do whatever it takes._ "I promise." _Just... Just wake up, already. Wake up, damnit._

He reached shakily for her hand, when the window exploded with a crash.

Ranma had to jump forward to avoid the bicycle that came crashing into the room, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

A cheery voice rang out. "Nihao, Ranma!"

Shampoo stood up over her bike, shaking some dust and glass from her hair from her collision with the window. She raised a hand in greeting, a large smile gracing her delicate face. "I hear about school test and bring late night study ramen- aiya."

Her eyes fell on Akane, and Ranma slumped over her. In his desperation to get away from her bike, Ranma had clambered up on top of Akane, putting them in a precarious situation – a fact he had realized before Shampoo. He straightened quickly, waving his hands to try to curb her anger. "S-Shampoo, it's not what it looks like, don't get mad, she's-"

"Dead?" Ranma looked in surprise as the color drained from Shampoo's face. She lifted herself off and over the bike, letting it clatter to the floor. "Girl die?" She crept up to the edge of the bed, swallowing hard, and went slowly to her knees at her bedside.

Ranma, taken aback by Shampoo's concern, started to say, "She's not-"

Her voice was quiet. "It happen much quicker than advertised..." Shampoo took Akane's hand in her own, and held it tightly. She hadn't truly expected Akane to die this way, so she was slightly taken aback with the guilt that flooded her. It felt unfair, to win Ranma this way. But she had to keep her eyes on the prize. "Shampoo appreciate this sacrifice, apologize you did not learn better in time to stop." She nodded once, patting her hand in condolence. "Shampoo take good care of Ranma, promise."

Ranma shook his head, hardly listening, just wanting to correct her. "Shampoo, she's not de-..." Like a camera lens, her words suddenly came into focus as he processed what she had said. His smile dropped, and his heart did too.

"...Advertised?"

Shampoo froze. She hesitated. She thought.

"Yes," she said suddenly. "Japanese girls supposed to live long lives, hospital advertise good health-"

" _Shampoo."_ His voice was deadly. She looked at him in horror, and let go of Akane's hands. She fell backwards onto her butt, crawling away desperately as Ranma stepped off the bed.

"' _Advertised?'_ Shampoo, what the hell do you mean 'in time to stop'? To stop _what?!_ " Ranma had never felt anger like this towards Shampoo before. He often went soft on Shampoo because he knew how she felt about him, and she was a girl, and he had a somewhat chivalric mentality... But right now, he threw all of that out of the window she had just come through.

Ranma grabbed Shampoo by the collar of her shirt, pulling her up onto her knees. He could tell she knew what was going on with Akane. His mind was racing, and something popped into his head – when Akane had been crying: " _I think I'm going craz_ y." That was what she had said. Of course. These last few days had been hellish – all these things happening to Akane, it wasn't just her own clumsiness or bad accidents, it had to be something magical, something unexplainable, something... _Something Shampoo did._

Ranma was livid. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this angry. "What the hell did you do, Shampoo?!"

Shampoo's eyes darted around the room. _Shit. Shit shit shit._ How would she explain this one? "I-I do not know what Ranma... I know not..."

Ranma shook her, ending her resolve to try to deny involvement. "Shampoo you answer me right now!"

She slapped his hands off of her, and leapt to her feet. "Ranma is being cruel! There no proof Shampoo involved! Shampoo leave no clues-"

That sealed her fate, and they both knew it. "Er-"

BAM. Ranma threw her into the wall, hard. He held her there, hands twisted in collar of her shirt. She cried out, and gasped when his face loomed over hers menacingly. "Shampoo, if she dies, you die."

All it took was a look into his face to know he meant it.

"You tell me what you did _right now_."

Shampoo thought about offering information in exchange for a kiss, but knew that might earn her some serious pain. Normally she wasn't afraid in the slightest of Ranma hurting her, but she hadn't seen him so enraged before. It made her angry – made her want to rise up and hit him and protest and deny everything. She didn't owe him anything, not even an explanation!

But for the first time, she realized that doing so might actually endanger herself – and even more so, her relationship with Ranma. This fury was something new, something she hadn't seen before from her normally thoughtful and careful airen. So instead, she quelled her anger, and decided for the sake of saving some semblance of a relationship with him, she had better cave. But not completely.

She looked down at the floor, the gears turning in her head.

"... Ranma come with Shampoo to Great Grandmother. Get answers there."

Ranma let go of her in disgust at the entire situation. Getting so angry at her, hurting her, he didn't feel good about it. But knowing that she was responsible for putting Akane through this made him want to hurt her even more. He turned away, too angry to even look at her. He stared instead at Akane, lying motionless on the bed _._ The sheets were messed up from him landing on it, and the curtains were tossing around in the wind from the now open window. _Akane... I'll make it all better. I'll take care of you. I'll..._ He remembered her smile last night, how she thanked him in advance. _I'll keep saving you._

Ranma walked over to the window, shutting the heavier blind in order to dampen the wind that was coming in. Then he stood there for a long time, ignoring Shampoo.

The clocked ticked in a silent room, until finally, Ranma spoke.

"Fine. Take me to her."


	4. The Curse Revealed

**Close to Death**  
AliasAlien  
January 2016

 **Chapter 4: The Curse Revealed**

Like the small talons of sparrows, the cold dug into her skin and cut her, over and over.

Her skin flaked off her body like petals falling from dead flowers, exposing the frozen bones beneath.

The cold was literally ripping her apart.

 _Please... Help me...!_

It was all-consuming, this feeling of pure cold. It crystallized into frost across her heart, her blood froze in her veins, her eyes sealed shut behind ice, her head – her head was **pounding**!

It was only this pain that reminded her she was alive – everywhere else was numb, nonexistent, except for the pain throbbing in her temples. She couldn't move, so she was forced to lay immobile as the pain washed over her in waves.

With each throb of pain, her vision went white and painfully bright. Slowly, an image started to take form in the brightness, pulsating in and out of existence with the bright flashes.

Eyes.

A nose.

A smile.

A braid.

A portrait of the man who led her to this icy tomb.

* * *

A bell tinkled softly and she looked over her shoulder at the door.

"Ahh, future son-in-law," Cologne cooed, her voice turned rusty with her age.

The ancient martial artist hopped on her staff, surveying the two new occupants of her restaurant. Shampoo was sulking, refusing to make eye contact, and Ranma stood in front of her, his posture defensive, his hands balled into fists, fury on his face. She looked them over warily. "To what do we owe the pleasure of a late night visit such as this?"

"Can it, old hag," Ranma snapped, and Cologne raised an eyebrow. "You need to tell me what you know. _Right now._ "

Cologne balanced silently on her staff, regarding him carefully. "To talk about everything I know would take years, son-in-law." She gestured to a seat at a nearby table, hopping over to sit across from him. Like a wizened bird of prey she perched on her staff, looking up at him through huge brown eyes. "Can you be more specific?"

"God damn it!" Ranma walked over and slammed a fist on the table top, remaining standing. "You know damn well what I want to know about!" He wasn't here to play any games or deal with the old woman's long-winded stories and legends. "What did you and Shampoo do to Akane?!" He knew he was shouting and didn't care.

Cologne's eyes traveled to Shampoo, who finally made eye contact with her. The young Chinese girl frowned somberly, and took a seat at the table. She remained silent.

 _Ah, I see._ Looking back to Ranma, Cologne questioned, "Ohhh? And what's been happening to Akane?"

Livid, Ranma opened his mouth and started to yell, "She keeps on – it feels like – well," he hesitated, confused on how to explain the dark things that kept happening to the girl. "It seems like... she keeps getting in danger, and, almost getting injured, and..." He trailed off, struggling to find the words. _She keeps almost dying... almost leaving me..._

"Ranma," Cologne chastised. "As far as I see it, Akane falls into dangerous situations all time. We all do. And 'almost' getting injured?" She squinted her eyes. "I don't see the threat in 'almost' being harmed."

"God damn it, you old hag! It's different and you know it!" Ranma swiped at her with a fist, and Cologne jumped up and over, spring-boarding with her cane off of Ranma's head, sending him face-first into the table, and landed gently back at her starting position.

"Don't come into my restaurant and try to attack me, future son-in-law," she warned. "You're 100 years too young to take me on."

"Fffuuuck you," Ranma seethed, lifting his head up off the table, cracking his knuckles in fury. "You old hag, you crazy witch..." He stood up straight again and put both hands on the table menacingly.

"If you want a fight, we can have one," Cologne fired back, lifting an arm to roll her sleeves up. _Oh ho ho... Got him._

Ranma was about to take her up on the offer when he paused and something slowly registered.

Cologne flinched. _He caught on!_

"Oh no you don't, old ghoul." It took everything he had to calm down, but Ranma finally took a seat at the table. "You're not distracting me this time. I'm going to get this out of ya, one way or another."

Ranma pointed accusingly at Shampoo, who was tempted to bite his finger off. "Shampoo admitted to being involved which means you're involved too. Now you know what's happening to Akane and no matter how long it takes, or how much patience I need to have, I'm going to find out what you did." He crossed his arms and leaned back, looking grumpily at Cologne to prove his point.

Cologne stared back at him, squinting her eyes in anger. _Almost had him._ She knew Ranma was a sucker for fights; if she could have delayed him for a little longer he may have left there without the information he had come for in the first place.

But it didn't look like it was going to be that easy.

"Alright then. I'll go make tea."

* * *

Something stirred in the back of her mind, and she teetered toward consciousness.

 _How did I... get here?_

And where was here?

After a little while she realized she was alone in the dark, outside. Snow was falling all around her. Quickly, she grabbed her own arms, hugging herself in defense against the cold but was surprised when she realized she was quite warm. _Hm?_ The snow was building up quickly, already accumulating around her ankles.

She looked around at her surroundings, and, as if by magic, details started sprouting around her like flowers. A lamp post popped into existence, casting a faint yellow glow on the snow. A fence sprung up, running alongside a sidewalk that cracked its way up from the ground. Faint buildings loomed out of the darkness and she quickly recognized the street. _This is the way I walk to school-_ Her eyes opened wide, and as she turned her head, she thought, _That's right, I was right here when-_

Akane watched, bewildered, as she saw herself stumble out from the darkness and into the light of the lamp. She watched as she dragged her feet through the snow, burying her nose into her scarf, her hands tucked in her pockets.

Then, as if she had never left it, she was back in her body at that time, looking down the street, thinking about _him,_ and reliving what had happened.

 _I was so sure he was about to kiss me. And it's not like it would be the first time he tried..._

 _There was also the time in the closet. And when I dared him to kiss me and he put me on his lap... How long ago was that...?_

" _Too long,"_ _Ranma whispered, slipping his hand into hers._

 _She turned her head to look at him, surprise and glee filling her face. "Ranma!" She exclaimed in a puff of frozen air._

 _He was smiling at her gently, and touched her cheek softly with the back of his hand. His touch was warm against her, and she could feel the heat radiating off of him. He looked startled. "Are you cold, 'Kane?"_

 _Akane leaned her face against his hand, smiling up at him. "Not now that you're here."_

" _I can take the cold away," Ranma whispered quickly. He took her face in his hands, and leaned down over her. His nose brushed against hers as it slid past. His lips hovered over her mouth, and her heart started drumming against her rib-cage. Oh!_

" _...Do you want me to kiss you?" He asked, the question echoing in the night air. She heard Ranma's shyness in his voice, and it made her heart skip a beat._

" _Y-Yes," Akane gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... I love you, Ranma."_

 _It was all the encouragement he needed. Their lips touched, and instantly the cold melted away from her body. His warmth filled her up like hot water into a cup, and warmest of all was her mouth – she felt his tongue dart across her lower lip, pure fire against her skin. One of his hands slid down from her face, and found the small of her back. He was soft yet firm against her, and she leaned into his touch._

 _She didn't even notice as he slowly lowered her down, his warm mouth never leaving hers. It was only when they broke apart that she realized she was now on her back, and the pigtailed boy was leaning over her, a huge smile on his face._

 _Ranma looked down at her, his eyes traveling up her body to meet her gaze. "Akane... You look beautiful like this."_

 _She saw the snow drifts around her, but didn't feel the cold – the kiss warmed her from the inside out, and nothing could harm her now._

" _Stay here, just like this?" It was a question, asking for a promise. Her heart fluttered, and she nodded. When she did, Ranma's smile grew into a playful grin, and suddenly he leaned down._

 _Ranma kissed his way up Akane, from her collar bone to her neck to her ear. Each kiss burned pleasantly into her skin, so warm she was sure it would leave burn marks. "I want you..." His lips brushed her ear, and she knew she wouldn't move from there ever. Not for anything. "...to die here."_

 _She closed her eyes._

Then Akane opened them and watched the scene again – this time, back in her position on the street. Akane watched herself struggling to walk, then saw as her head jerked back. A vacant look filled her eyes. _What the..._ Akane hugged herself again, this time not to ward against cold, but fear. Fear she felt as she watched her replica stand still in the snow, staring ahead at nothing. _Is that really me? What am I doing?_

Like someone had kicked her from behind, her body double's knees hit the pavement. She crumpled like an accordion, collapsing into the snowbank running along the fence, and lay there, motionless.

 _What is going on? Why is this happening? How can I see this?!_ Akane shut her eyes tightly, willing it all to go away. Finally she felt more than saw the light of the lamp post going out, and darkness fell around her.

And it stayed dark until she felt a hand on her face, and her head filled with the sound of her own screaming.

* * *

"It's a very old and rare curse, known by many names."

The three people in the Cat Café were gathered around the table, each with a cup of tea in front of them. Shampoo was quiet, but some of her confidence had returned. Ranma was sullen and anxious, hoping to get back to Akane soon. Cologne was...taking her time.

It had been over 45 minutes since Ranma had first burst into the restaurant, demanding answers. Since then Cologne had postponed discussing anything related to curses, trying to test Ranma's patience, until finally Ranma had lost it and told her to get on with it already.

Cologne took a sip of tea before continuing. "Some know it as 'The Curse of Scorned Love', or 'The Curse of Ten Days of Heartbreak.' But in my opinion, the most suitable name for it would be 'The Curse of Almost Death.'"

Cologne shifted the teacup in her hands, as Ranma's eyebrows furrowed.

"'Almost Death,' huh?" He mumbled, casting aside his tea as he leaned forward. "What does it do, exactly?"

"It's been around for thousands of years," Cologne continued, making her way slowly to answering his question. "Although, there are very few documented cases of the curse actually being used on someone as it is a very powerful and dark curse indeed. And the results have varied over those few times – thus lending itself to these different names, depending on how the curse was carried out in each instance.

"Generally, however, the curse was used historically by men or women whose partner was cheating on them. The curse was designed to be enacted upon the cheating loved one, to make them regret their treachery." Here Cologne took another sip, and Shampoo and Ranma shared a glance.

"Ahhh," she sighed, exhaling steam. "Now then, the curse is supposed to punish the cheater by leading them into life threatening situations whenever their mind is consumed on thoughts of love. When the feelings of love arise, the curse ensures that pain follows. The intention being that when thoughts of love cause injury or distress, you'll be more hesitant and fearful when being around or thinking of the person of your desires."

Ranma gritted his teeth. _That means... Akane... towards me..._

"Traditionally," Cologne continued, "the curse does not typically result in death. Usually cheaters have a weak attachment to love in the first place, and quickly learn to associate pain with the object of their fancy. That, and their weak love is not worth dying for in their opinion. Each day of the curse, the situations become more frequent and deadly. So the sooner they abandon their love within the timeline of the curse – which is active for ten days – the sooner and more likely they will escape alive. But, as I said, ultimately the purpose of the curse is not to kill – though sometimes it has happened, no one is perfect. Instead..." She trailed off here, waiting for the question she knew he would ask.

Ranma's eyes darted up to meet Cologne's. "What happens if– if they continue loving the other person, even after the ten days? Does it just... go away?"

Cologne looked over Ranma once, wondering how he would take the news. "Ultimately, the purpose of the curse is something more sinister. If the love is true, and survives the ten days of trials of the curse, there is a consequence.

"If the victim of the curse, in this case Akane, continues to love the object of her affections, namely _you_ , Ranma, then, if she survives all ten days of the curse..." She tilted her head. "She will be unable to love again. Not you, not anybody. _This_ is the true painful secret of the curse, fueled by the centuries of lovers having their hearts broken by adultery.

"If she survives the curse, Akane will be unable to love ever again."

Ranma's mind was swirling. _Let me get this straight. Whenever Akane thinks about loving someone – me? – she could potentially die? And if she doesn't, then once the curse runs out... It will be impossible for her to love anyone?_

Ranma looked up at Cologne, questions swirling in his mind. "How... how does it try to kill her? What is it actually doing?"

"Ohhh," Cologne looked thoughtful. "From the few accounts I've read, it can vary from situations like 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time' to victims being driven to almost suicide levels of self-harm, while be unaware of their own doings. Think of it as the curse possessing the victim's body."

In disbelief, Ranma shook his head. "But... but Akane isn't... She never cheated on a love against Shampoo, how can it work against her?!"

"She is a girl in love," Cologne said somberly. "That is all the curse needs to work. It was designed for adulterers, but is non-discriminate in that it will target anyone in love."

Ranma was baffled, furious, and panicking. His eyes wandered around the table, until he looked fiercely up at Cologne. "Fine. Then how do I stop the curse?"

"Ranma," Shampoo said suddenly.

Ranma jumped, having forgotten she was even there since she had sat so silently. But how could he forgot her, he thought darkly, she was the one who started this mess in the first place.

Shampoo's red eyes bore into his blue ones. "Only way to end curse is for girl to fall out of love."

The chair screeched against the floor as Ranma stood up suddenly. "Shampoo, even for you..." He balled his hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to punch her in the face. "This is a new low." _Putting her life in danger like this..._

"Aiya," Shampoo mumbled quietly. Here she did her best to put on a front of sincerity as she said, "When Shampoo cast curse, I no intend to end girl's life." _Though not such a bad thing to happen, if so._ "Only trying to get Ranma's love for Shampoo, alone."

"Don't blame her too much," Cologne piped up, defending her great granddaughter. "Love makes you do crazy things. You should understand that too, Ranma," she said, her eyes flashing.

Ranma looked at them both. He was disgusted – in part at them, but more so with _himself_.

 _It's my fault, again._ He thought sourly, turning his face away. _It's because of me that Akane's life is in danger. It's my fault for letting Shampoo get to her, it's my fault for not protecting her... Even just having her love me is putting her life in danger now! And not just her life, but her chance at happiness..._

"Future son-in-law, one last thing." Cologne put down her tea, as he stared at her, wary about what she was about to say. "This curse is meant to destroy love. If you end up making her hate you – if her feelings of you are truly gone before the curse is ended, they will never return."

Ranma looked at her, understanding the ultimatum this curse demanded. _Akane will either never love again, or she can love anyone except for me._

Ranma turned his back on Cologne and Shampoo, and started walking away.

Cologne watched his retreating back, and called to him as he approached the door. "What will you do, Ranma?"

He stopped walking, his hand on the doorknob. "What will I do...?" he repeated.

Ranma looked over his shoulder at the two of them. "First, I'm going back to Akane to make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble. Then," and here his eyes lit up fiercely, "I'm going to find another way to break this curse."

He left without another word, leaving only a few snowflakes behind as he slammed the door shut.

Cologne and Shampoo sat together for several moments, until Cologne broke the silence. "And what about you Shampoo?" Cologne adjusted on her perch on her old cane, sipping her tea. "I notice you deliberately left out _that thing_ involving a cure for the curse, so what are you planning?"

Shampoo looked sadly toward the door, where she had watched Ranma disappear into the snow storm. She believed with all of her heart that once he thought there was no other way to save Akane that Ranma would give up on her. It had to be true, it just had to. No way he would be able to watch her suffer for another week – he would rather make her hate him forever, then let Akane live forever without love.

And then without Akane standing in her way, Shampoo could finally convince Ranma his love had been misplaced – that he should love her, instead. Once his mind was off Akane, she would be able to win his heart without distraction. Even if he blamed her for the curse, time heals – and once he loved Shampoo, he would recognize why such a curse had been needed. It would all work out. It had to!

Right?

Shampoo sighed softly.

"Airen..."

* * *

Pale sunlight streamed into the room, through the sheet of cloudy plastic covering the window.

Ranma sat hunched in a chair, his arms crossed, eyes staring straight ahead. He watched Akane breathe slowly, the blankets rising and falling gently. A clock ticked quietly next to him.

When he had returned last night and found that the dark-haired girl was still sleeping soundly, Ranma had set to work fixing her window best he could. Some snow had fallen in underneath the drapes, and he wanted to make sure Akane stayed warm. He had found a large sheet of plastic drop cloth that was left over from the repairs made to the dojo, and used black duct tape to seal it over the window. It looked janky and wasn't very insulating, but it would do for now. He also cleaned up the glass.

Then, he had pulled up a chair, and waited.

And waited.

All night he had sat next to her bed, never leaving her side. In the morning, Kasumi had come in and hadn't acted surprised to see him still there. She asked him if Akane had woken up at all. "No," he had said, "but she rolled around a little."

"I see," was her only reply, before phoning Dr. Tofu Ono.

Ranma stayed in the room while Tofu worked on Akane, checking her for signs of frostbite. He let the doctor do his work silently, as he applied some ointments, herbal remedies, and bandages to her extremities – Tofu had started to ask what had happened, but Ranma wasn't in the mood to discuss it. What would he even say? He was still feeling bitter after learning about the curse, and didn't want to tell anyone about what was really happening to the girl. Not until he knew what to do.

Luckily, when Kasumi was absent, Dr. Tofu was actually very observant of people's feelings, and didn't probe Ranma any further. As he was packing up, Dr. Tofu looked at Ranma. "She should be waking up soon. I didn't see any signs of severe frostbite – she's lucky she was wearing gloves, and that you found her fairly quickly. Even so, I've put some wraps on her hands and feet. I'll also leave some ointment for her to prevent her skin from drying out too much, and to help with any swelling."

Dr. Tofu looked over the girl he had watched grow up, and sighed. "Her joints will be stiff for a day or two, but that should be the worst of it." He headed toward the door, then paused in the doorway. "Ranma... If there's ever anything you need to talk about, you know you can come find me."

It was only after he had left that Ranma realized with a start that Tofu could be an asset – many times his knowledge of ancient Chinese curses rivaled even that of Cologne's. He might have something useful, after all.

But Ranma wasn't about to leave to go find him. Even when she had asked him if he planned on going to school, Kasumi seemed to expect his answer, and left them alone after bringing in a plate of snacks. "For when she wakes up," she said.

Now they were alone again, the day passing slowly, as Ranma's mind wandered over everything he had learned from Cologne about the curse.

 _This probably started Monday_ , he reasoned, thinking back to the incident with the truck. Looking back, it was easy to rationalize that her odd behavior at the time – her stumbling run, diverging from her normal running path, running at night – could be explained by supernatural forces acting on her body. _And today is Thursday, so..._ Ranma did math on his fingertips. _So I have until Wednesday to figure out how to save her._

Since returning home, his mind had been consumed with trying to think of ways to free her from the curse. _If I make her hate me, then the curse will end, right? Then she won't suffer like this anymore._ Ranma looked at Akane's sleeping face, and felt his heart sink. _But then... I never get to be with her?_

Ranma shook his head. What did that matter! Shouldn't her life be more important than, than... _Than wanting her to love me?_ Ranma looked down at his hands. _Fuck... Why did this have to happen? There has to be some other way to fix this... And the sooner I figure it out, the sooner these awful things stop happening._ He put the palm of his hand to his eye, pushing against it hard. _And I'm so tired..._ His body was achingly reminding him that he hadn't slept at all since the night before. _It's so hard to think..._

Movement. On the bed.

Ranma looked up, and saw Akane's face twist into a look of pain. She started moving in jerky movements, tensing her arms and legs underneath the blanket. _A nightmare?_

"Akane?" Ranma stood up quickly, and bent over her.

She was moving her mouth, but no words were coming out. She looked like she was drowning, now kicking her arms and legs, her breath coming out in gasps.

"Hey, hey," he said softly, and, not knowing what else to do, he put a hand on her face. "Hey, it's me, it's okay! Akane!"

Her eyes flew open and her head jerked back into the pillow when she saw him.

 _She's awake._ Ranma felt relief sweep through him for the first time since he had found her last night. _She's alive, she's awake!_ "Akane, thank god, I-"

" _No! NO!"_

Bewilderment fell over him as Akane's eyes filled with fear. Before he had another chance to speak, Akane had slapped him across the face, sending him nearly to the floor.

"Akane – what –" Ranma caught himself, and looked over at her, as she started kicking her legs in an effort to keep him back.

Akane fought her way back into the corner of her bed, her heart racing, her mind swimming. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she was afraid. She saw him stand up and reach for her.

Before he could get close to her, her hand found her alarm clock and she threw it at him with all her might.

Clock connected with face, and Ranma went down, sprawling on his back in the middle of the floor. "A-a—ka-neee..." He mumbled, going cross-eyed from the pain.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped in her brain, Akane recognized where she was, and what she was doing.

Akane looked down at the bed. "I'm home? What happened?" She looked down at herself in pajamas, and reached to pull the covers toward her. As she bent her fingers, she winced. "Ouch- jeeze." Her hands were _sore_.

She looked down at them, seeing the signs of Dr. Tofu's handiwork – her fingers were bandaged entirely like gloves, and she felt heat pulsating underneath them. She recognized the smell of the ointment underneath, designed and mixed to trap body heat under bandages.

At first she was confused, but then the memory of last night flooded back. _I was walking home when Ranma came and..._ Her cheeks turned pink as she remembered the kiss. _Did he?! Did we?!_ Her heart soared, then slowly fluttered back down in realization. _No... He didn't. We didn't. That didn't really happen. It was just another one of those..._ Those what? _Just my mind running away from me._

But then, what had really happened? She remembered her dream – _is that what it was?_ – where she saw herself fall down in the snow, unprovoked. _Is that what happened? Did I imagine that? Then my hands are..._ She looked at her fingers, wiggling them. They were sore, but she didn't lose any fingers to frostbite.

Akane exhaled a confused sigh of relief as she set them down, then noticed Ranma.

"R-Ranma?" she asked, leaning over a little to see him on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

He grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his face. "Just taking a nap," he responded sarcastically. He looked at her cautiously. "A-Are you... okay now?"

Akane blinked, confused. Ranma held up the alarm clock.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed, clapping a hand to her mouth. _Now she realizes,_ he thought grumpily.

"Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry!" What had been with that reaction? _How could I ever be so afraid of Ranma? I mean, I'm not, but... When I saw him, I just wanted to cry and scream..._

"I'm so sorry!" she said again. "I don't know what that reaction was! I guess I just, uh," she didn't want to say ' _I remember you kissing me in the snow and then leaving me there'_ so instead she said, "panicked since," _you were so close to me?,_ "I wasn't expecting you to be there!"

Ranma looked at her carefully, and slowly said, "It's fine. Next time though, throw a pillow or something." He stood up, putting her alarm clock back on the desk, thinking. _Something definitely happened that she doesn't want to talk about..._

He watched her as she fidgeted in bed, avoiding eye contact with him by looking around the room. His heart was no way he could tell her about the curse yet. He didn't want to scare her. Or make her angry. _Akane... Forgive me. Once I know how to fix this, I'll tell you everything. Until then..._

"Hey, what happened to my window!"

 _Eep._ Ranma flinched, looking over at the plastic sheet that rustled with every gust of wind.

"Uhhh... Oh." He said intelligently, looking back at Akane. He scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Well, uh, Shampoo stopped by last night with food, and didn't bother to open the window first, so... I fixed it temporarily."

Akane seethed at that. "Jeeze! That impatient girl, if she keeps destroying this house I'm going to make dad make her pay for re...pairs..." Akane blinked. "Last night? Wait, wait, what time is it? What _day_ is it?!"

"Uh," Ranma started. "It's Thursday, like around noon? I'd know exactly but I think you broke the clock with my face-"

"THURSDAY?!" Akane screamed, kicking off the blankets. "Class! We need to get to class! The test is tomorrow," she swiveled herself in bed, dimly noticing her feet were covered in bandages as well, "and we need to be there for the review! Jeeeze how I could I sleep in this late—"

"Akane."

Ranma's hands were on her shoulders, and he was using his body to block her from getting out of bed.

"Ranma," she said, disgruntled. How did he appear so fast? "The test—"

"The test can go fuck itself. You're not getting out of bed."

His tone surprised her. She looked up into his face, and was confused by the dark face he was making. "Ranma, what?" She put a hand on his wrist, looking worriedly up at him. When he didn't react, she asked quietly, "What're you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that," Ranma looked into her eyes, his expression painful, "I went out to look for you last night, and I saw you laying there, not moving, covered in snow, and I... I thought you were **dead**." His eyes searched her face, remembering those moments after finding her.

"You were like ice," he continued quietly. "And you just wouldn't wake up. You were _so cold, Akane_ ," he whispered the last part. Akane's heart broke just looking at him, he looked so sad. She tightened her grip on his wrist.

Ranma bit the inside of his cheek, finally looking away from her. "And I... I found you so late. If I had just been there earlier..."

"Ranma," Akane said quietly, shaking her head. "It's not your fault. I stayed later than I should have at the school. I pushed myself too much."

"Then don't push yourself now." Ranma looked into her face, saw her pain, and felt guilty. He took a deep breath. "And, speaking of pushing: down you go." Ranma pushed Akane down flat on her back as she exclaimed, and grabbed her ankles, forcing her back into bed.

"You. Are. Not. Leaving." He pulled the blankets over her, and rapidly tucked her in, forcing her body into a cocoon of blankets while she struggled weakly against him.

"Ranma! Stop! Gugh!" Akane grumbled, glaring at him. "You!" _He tricked me! Acting all sad... He's fine!_

"'I' what?" Ranma stuck his tongue out at her. "I meant everything I said. But look." He patted her burrito of blankets. "You couldn't even stop me from doing that, so you're definitely not strong enough to get out of bed and go to school." He grinned. "So be a good tomboy and get nice and strong again soon." _Although there's nothing wrong with her throwing arm._

Akane sulked, wiggling to get comfortable. "Ranma you idiot..."

"Mm, then you just lost to an idiot." Akane glared at him, and it made him relieved to get back to their usual squabbling. It looked like she was going to be just fine.

But he still needed to know.

"So... What do you remember about last night?" Ranma asked as he plopped himself down into his chair. Akane looked over at him.

"Um... Well, I called Kasumi, and started walking home, and then, I guess I just," _don't mention that thing!, "_ passed out or something? I dunno. It all kinda goes dark at that point." She didn't like lying to Ranma, but there was no way she could tell him what she saw. "Uh, so, yeah. I guess I've just been studying too hard..."

Ranma looked away, trying to hide his discomfort. _She's lying._ Her reaction confirmed it; Akane was a terrible liar. _What happened last night was definitely the result of the curse. Damn it!_

He noticed the silence that followed, and looked back up at her. "Yeah. Got it." He leaned forward and took a grape off the plate of snacks Kasumi prepared for them. He was a little pissed that she was lying. "So you just laid down in snow like a moron."

"I did not!" Akane yelled, struggling to escape the blankets tucked around her. _Damn he got these tight_. "I told you, I was walking home from school, and then you—" She stopped abruptly.

Ranma's eyebrows went up and he stopped mid-chew. "...I?" he asked in a lingering tone, hoping to get her to finish her sentence.

"...It's nothing." Akane buried her face in the blanket, and went silent.

He stared at her for a few moments, before giving up, and changing the subject. He grabbed a cracker while he said, "Anyway, so this morning Dr. Tofu came by and took a look at you. He said you're going to be fine, but sore for a few days." He popped some more grapes in his mouth, trying to think of anything else important to tell her. "I made Kasumi leave the room while he was here, so you owe me for that, too – otherwise you might've ended up in worse shape..." Ranma put some cheese on a cracker and ate that, too, realizing how suddenly hungry he was now that he knew she was safe.

Akane noticed it too. "Stop eating my food," Akane grumbled into the blanket. "That's for me to get strong and healthy again, stupid."

"Oy, I deserve some of these," he said, popping another grape and some cheese into his mouth. "Who do you think made sure you survived the night?"

It was then that Akane noticed the bags under his eyes. "Ranma..." Ranma looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and flinched when he saw her staring, wide-eyed at him. "Did you really stay here all night?"

Still watching her from the corner of his eye, Ranma tried to cover his embarrassment by eating more. Once he swallowed, he said gruffly, "I... I couldn't fall asleep until I knew you were okay. Y-You have a problem with that?!" He glared at her. "If you weren't such a stupid tomboy getting yourself into trouble all the time..."

Ranma stopped talking as he noticed Akane was staring at him with a funny look on her face that made him turn red. Then she smiled, and wiggled in her blanket prison, finally wheedling out her hand. Ranma watched, nervous, as she reached out and took his hand in hers. He stared at their hands, then looked up at her face, his stomach flipping over when he saw the smile she was giving him, and the tiny blush on her cheeks.

"Ranma... Thank you."

Ranma became dimly aware of his heart rate picking up. He looked over her face, down to her bandaged hand. He swallowed hard. "Akane..." _What would I do without you here._

And then Cologne's warning of the curse rang in his ears. " _When the feelings of love arise, the curse ensures that pain follows."_

"Tch," Ranma gritted his teeth, and pulled his hand away suddenly, standing up. "Sorry, Akane. I uh, I think you need to rest. And me, too, I need some sleep." He turned away from her, walking to the door.

He didn't even look over his shoulder as he stopped at the door. "I'll go let Kasumi know you're awake. I'm sure she'll want to come see you."

Akane looked on, shocked and hurt, as Ranma closed the door behind him. _What... What was that cold treatment?_ She looked down at her hand, which had just been holding Ranma's, and slowly pulled it back under the quilt.

 _Ranma... You idiot._

* * *

Outside in the hallway, Ranma leaned up against the wall, willing his heart to slow down.

 _Damn it all._ He scowled at the floor in front of him. _Love, curses, death, damn it all. I_ will _find a way to break this curse, and I'll protect Akane from any harm until I do. This stupid curse won't beat me!_

 _Akane... You'll see. I promise._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So here it is! The true purpose of the curse revealed! I did my best to explain the curse, but if anyone has any confusion/questions please let me know. If they're very critical/key questions I'll answer them publicly, either down here (if I figure out how to edit a chapter that's already gone up...) or at the beginning of the next chapter. (And yes, what Cologne said at the end to Shampoo hints at another way to break the curse ;) )

Otherwise... I'm doing my best to remain as true to the canon as possible in terms of Akane and Ranma's interactions, even as they enter a new trying stage of their relationship that's never existed in the canon. So, apologies for any OOC moments, I'm still learning how to balance a new plot line with their usual wacky selves. :)

 **EDIT 1/1/2016 9:00pst:** Already in the reviews I'm seeing a trend, and I want to address it (in case you're thinking the same thing!): Ranma DID NOT give Shampoo and Cologne a hard enough time. In my portrayal of Ranma, he's in shock, too over-whelmed to get worked up, and more focused on processing what he's hearing. That, and he realizes Akane could be in danger at any moment so he needs to get back to her.

In addition, when I was writing the scene, it felt more like one of Cologne's teaching sessions than a guilt-ridden explanation of what they did, so I feel like Ranma (in his sometimes simple way) would be more focused on figuring out the new challenge in front of him, and not think about "Wait a minute, they need to be held responsible!" He tends to (in my mind) be more a man of action than a man who expresses himself through words. But don't worry... He'll let them have it once he has a moment to himself to think about it. ;)


	5. A Test of Love and Anger

**Close to Death**  
AliasAlien  
March 2016

 **Chapter 5: A Test of Love and Anger**

"Ranma?"

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Akane was leaning over him, looking down into his face. Half her face was shrouded in shadow, the other half bright orange from fading sunlight.

His room was dark, save for the light of the setting sun streaming through the window. As the sun sunk lower in the sky, it cast long shadows and streaks of sunlight across the ceiling. A reflection off the pond outside was splashed against the wall, creating a glittering array of orange and yellow hues. It was quiet and warm and soothing.

Ranma inhaled deeply, stretching the sleep from his shoulders. The late afternoon air hung thick around him, the tendrils of sleep still wrapped around his mind. Lazily, he lifted a hand, still in a daze from his afternoon nap. His fingers dipped through Akane's hair, and rested on the back of her neck. Instantly a pink hue rose to her cheeks as the weight of his hand forced her face a little closer to his.

"Mm," he sighed, feeling content after his nap. His fingers played idly with the bones on the back of her neck. He was dimly aware of how thin her neck felt beneath his fingers, and how warm she was. "Am I dreaming...?" He closed his eyes again.

"No," Akane said sharply, embarrassed that Ranma was acting this way in his sleep. "You're definitely awake."

"Hm?" Ranma opened his eyes, a half-smile on his face. Then he went white and yelled.

Kicking the blankets off, Ranma propelled himself backwards all the way across his room until his back hit the wall. "Akane?!" He looked in shock at the girl crouching next to his bedside. "What are you doing in here!" He yelled, hiding his embarrassment with anger. "Akane?! You- you pervert!"

Akane had been sitting shyly next to the heaped blankets of his bed, her face red and eyes downcast, until his last word. " **Pervert**? Who's the pervert?!" She yelled back, jumping to her feet, fists out ready for a fight. "You're the one who just—just—"

The memory of only a few seconds ago brought them both into silence.

Finally Ranma, looking away from Akane, grumbled out of the corner of his mouth, "Th-that wasn't because of you or anything, I was still asleep so..." He crossed his arms.

"Oh I see," Akane sneered, also crossing her arms and turning away from him. "You must have been dreaming about one of your _cute_ fiancées to act like that."

Ranma growled, frustrated. "I wasn't dreaming about them! You're the...!" Akane glanced at him, and he stopped talking.

"Whatever," he scoffed. "The real problem is why you're in here peeping on me."

Akane stomped her foot. "I wasn't peeping! You went to take a nap five hours ago! I wanted to make sure you woke up so that we – you – could study." She hesitated, afraid to assume that he would be studying with her tonight. "If Ukyo's waiting for you or something. Not that I care. I just don't want to hear you complain if you fail..." Akane trailed off. "A-Anyway! I knocked, but you didn't wake up. So I came in to make sure you were okay..." She glanced at him. "You were pretty deeply asleep."

"Yeah well," Ranma yawned, scratching the back of his head. "I needed the nap."

Akane fidgeted. "...Thanks again."

"For what?"

"For staying up last night... Making sure I was okay... Sorry. And thanks."

"Mmm, well," Ranma yawned, standing up and stretching in his jersey and boxers. "A klutz like you apparently can't take care of yourself, so someone's gotta."

Akane gave him a look, confused at whether or not she should interpret that as sweet or insulting.

"Well, regardless," she said, deciding to let his comment slide, "dad's fixing my window so I'm going to be studying in the dojo again until he's done. If you need help, that's where I'll be." Akane started for the door.

"Ah- Akane," Ranma said quickly.

"Yes?" She paused at the door.

"How are you feeling?" He was looking at her hands.

"Oh! Still sore, but better!" Akane smiled, lifting up her bandaged hands. "Dr. Tofu really knows his stuff. It aches a little but it's easier to bend my fingers. Too bad it's not bad enough to skip the test." She grinned a little, miming how she could easily hold a pencil.

Ranma exhaled slowly. "Good. That's good." His relief was obvious, and it made Akane's insides squirm. He was cute when he was being caring.

"Mhm," she mumbled, looking for an escape before he saw her blushing again. "Catch ya later." She snuck out the door quickly.

"Akane!" Ranma shouted after her, taking a few steps toward the door, when she stuck her head back in the doorway.

"What?"

"I'm coming too." He grinned. "Bring some snacks, I'm hungry from my nap."

Akane rolled her eyes, face disappearing into the hallway again. "You're always hungry."

Once she was gone, Ranma changed quickly. He had desperately needed the nap, but unfortunately it hadn't been as restful as he had hoped: nightmares involving Akane and the curse had plagued his sleep, and had woken him up several times. His nap could be described as fitful, as best. And now that he was awake, he was going to make sure to keep a close eye on her and prevent any harm from coming to her.

He yawned as he grabbed his school bag. _Hopefully our studyin' goes fine and we can sleep early..._

* * *

"Wrong." Akane pointed at his paper. "That one's wrong, too."

"You're wrong too," Ranma replied, pointing at her own paper. "That one's so wrong it's embarrassing."

"W-Why... you...!" Akane looked at him darkly, hands twisting into painful fists. He shrugged in response.

"You started it," he retorted, taking his paper out of her reach.

The two were sprawled on the floor of the dojo, school papers spread out around them. Empty plates, utensils, and cups sat between them, the clock ticking at 10pm. They had opted to eat dinner while they studied in an attempt to save time. Akane's dad had finished her window a few hours ago, but the two had been too consumed in trying to best each other's scores to get up and move.

Akane sat with a blanket around her shoulders, scouring the pages before her. She was still feeling chilled and the blanket provided much needed warmth. She paged through some notes, grumpy that she was still awake. They should have finished hours ago, but whenever they took a practice test and one of them scored higher than the other, their competitive nature took over. Test after practice test followed, each a battle to be won. At this point they had taken seven, and were figuring out their scores for this one as a tie-breaker.

 _The only good thing about being so competitive,_ Akane thought grumpily, counting her marks, _is that now we're actually starting to score higher... If the test is like this tomorrow, we should pass just fine._

Ranma looked up quickly from his paper. "78%! Best score yet!"

Akane tutted, looking up and shaking her head. "May be the best so far… But not better than my - " she spun her paper to show him, " - 78.5%!"

"Point five?!" Ranma wrenched her paper out of her hand, looking at it. "We're not giving half percents!"

"It was a two part question, I got the first part!" Akane argued. "Gimme my paper back!"

Ranma kept it out of her reach. "Bullshit, rematch!"

"Ranma!" Akane scolded, "You need to learn you can't always win! Now give. Me. My. Paper!"

Annoyed, Ranma took the edges of the blanket resting on her shoulders and pulled them together tightly, wrapping her arms inside. "Hey!" She yelled, wriggling against his hands, but he kept her bound tightly in the comforter. She struggled, but couldn't budge.

Ranma grinned evilly, enjoying this weak Akane too much. Even after resting, he knew she wasn't at 100% since the incident last night. And maybe it was wrong of him to take advantage of her in this state, but he was hard-pressed to give up teasing her entirely. "What's wrong, iron man? A widdle blanket too much for ya?"

The glare she shot at him made him laugh again. "Ohh, you just _wait_ Ranma, I will _get you for this!"_

"Nyah, nyah," he teased, pulling the blankets together even tighter. His eyes swept over her triumphantly, over her angry pink cheeks, to her tussled hair caught in the blanket, to her thin shoulders poking through the fabric, to the tiny fingers fighting against his behind the blanket... His smile died down as he took in her appearance. It was rare that he was this close to Akane – most of their fights were held from opposite ends of a table or the battle field. It always surprised him to realize how tiny she was.

"Grr," Akane was grumbling, actually getting very frustrated at the situation. She hated being this tired! And her fingers were so sore! Once she was healed up she was going to string this boy up by his braid and make him _sorry!_ "Grr! Why can't I... get out...!"

"It's because you're so small," Ranma said quietly.

Akane missed his tone, and looked at him with fury in her eyes. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Shut up," Ranma said, watching her shoulders move as she struggled. "Not everything I say is an insult, y'know."

With a huff, Akane stopped fighting and instead looked up at Ranma begrudgingly. "I know that... But you never tell me I'm small." Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "In fact you're always telling me I'm built like a brick. You're trying to say I'm weak! Well once I heal up—"

"I said shut up," Ranma sighed, lifting up a hand to lightly knock her on the head with a fist. "I don't mean you're weak. I mean... I dunno." Now he was getting sheepish. But he had to persevere to make sure she understood him and didn't get angry... Well, angrier. "Stop forgetting you're tiny, that you're a girl! You're strong and you can take care of yourself but that doesn't mean ya always have to..." He frowned, looking her in the eyes. "You don't have to always be strong, alone. I can help sometimes too, y'know."

His blue eyes were boring holes into her. It was too much. Akane looked down at the floor, flushed, too shocked by Ranma's words to think properly. She nodded stiffly. "Okay."

Her reaction embarrassed him almost as much as realizing what he had just said. As if the blanket had electrocuted him, Ranma let go and slid away from Akane in one movement. "Good! A-A-Anyway, I just mean, don't push yourself! Let's just get to bed soon!"

Again Akane nodded. "Okay."

Silence fell over the dojo. On one side, Ranma sat fidgeting uncomfortably. On the other, Akane sat quietly, trying to calm her heart as she unwound the blanket enough to get her hands out to pick up her practice test, discarded by Ranma earlier.

"W-Well," she broke the silence, "let's just go over the questions we got wrong and read up on those subjects, and then go to bed. What do you think – maybe another half hour?"

"S-Sounds good to me," Ranma mumbled.

"Okay," she said back. "Good. Ask if you have any questions."

The room grew silent once again. Ranma played with a loose thread on his pant leg. He was feeling guilty that she was so surprised at him being nice to her. Was he really so awful to her? _I should really say nice things more often..._ At least often enough that she stopped being suspicious whenever he was kind to her. He sighed, his guilt growing. He knew he should be nicer to her. After all, he knew how she felt about him. It was because she loved him that she was in this situation with the curse and all-

Something clicked in his head, abruptly.

Because she loved him. She loved him. She loved him? _She loves me?_

Ranma had been so preoccupied thinking about the negative aspects of the curse that he had overlooked the actual reason the curse was there in the first place. This curse, as terrible as it was, and as selfish as it was to think of it like this, was concrete proof that Akane loved him.

The thought filled him with warmth, and made him squirm. I _mean, I always kinda wondered, she always acted sorta... Well but, she never said it, but... Well now..._

That thought made him oddly happy, and oddly uncomfortable. Some part of him felt guilty that he knew how she felt, without her ever actually saying it, or without her realizing that he knew.

Ranma glanced at Akane.

What would she say if he asked her about it?

Would she say she did? Would she lie and say she didn't? Did the curse actually confirm she loved him? Or was it because she only liked him a little that it was working? Was the curse even really affecting her because of him? Or was she in love with someone else and Shampoo had gotten it wrong?

Suddenly, he needed to know.

Before he lost his nerve, he forced himself to speak. "Akane..."

Akane looked up at him. "Hm? You have a question?"

Ranma sat cross-legged, and fidgeted. Finally, looking at her through the side of his eyes, he asked timidly, "D... Do you... Do you love me?"

 _Do you love me?_

A shiver went down her spine. That phrase struck an ominous chord for her. Images of Ranma asking her that, and then feelings of stress and pain swept over her. She remembered that unnerving question from the road, the roof, the sidewalk... and she remembered what happened each time afterwards. Oh no, she was not going to answer that.

But even more than that... how could he just ask her something like that out of the blue!

"W-W-W-What?!" Akane looked at him, shocked, then quickly turned her face away. "I-I-I'm not going to answer that!"

Ranma frowned. "Why not?"

"B-Because!" Akane was panicking. The question made her feel a little sick. "I-I refuse!"

Ranma's eyes came together, and he went onto his hands and knees, crawling over to her. "Hey, why not?"

"Because!"

Ranma's frown deepened, and he started pestering her, poking his head up in front of her face as she tried desperately to avoid eye contact with him. "Hey. Hey. Akane. Hey. Hey!"

"Stop it!"

"Then answer me!" Ranma huffed, sounding like a child. He was getting annoyed. It had taken him a lot of courage to ask her that, and now she wouldn't even answer him! "Why won't you say anything? Hey! Akane!"

Akane held her breath, shaking her head 'no'.

Clenching his teeth, Ranma took Akane's head in his hands, and pulled her face toward him to make her look at him. "Answer me, or I'll make you."

He was being unusually commanding, and it made Akane's eyebrows rise up. She wasn't one to back down from a challenge. She pulled her face away. "Oh? And how are you going to make me?"

Ranma gulped, then squared his shoulders, sitting up straight. "You can't get mad."

"Mad at wha-?"

Akane was cut off as Ranma put his hands on her shoulders, and started to lean in.

 _WHAT?!_

Still tangled in her blankets from earlier, Akane tried to scoot away, but instead got caught and fell backwards onto the floor. "Oh-" As if taking it as an invitation, Ranma moved forward until he was on top of her, bending over her on his hands and knees. His expression was very, very serious.

Akane squeaked, feeling caught underneath him. His arms were by her shoulders, his face directly above hers. She felt his leg slide up the inside of one of hers. _S-Surely once he realizes what this seems like... There's no way he would go through with anything, right?!_ "R-Ranma, d-do you realize what this looks like?!"

"Yeah," Ranma whispered, leaning closer. "Do you realize it, too? What I'm going to do?"

She was on fire with that question. A blush spread across her face so quickly and powerfully she could almost feel steam rising from her cheeks. As he got even _closer_ , she shut her eyes tightly, her heart threatening to beat right through her ribcage. "R-Ranma!"

Up above, she heard a loud SNAP.

Suddenly Ranma's arms were around her, and she was being rolled and flung to the side. Exclaiming, she grabbed the blanket as if it was a shield and clutched it desperately. Next to her erupted a huge BANG and she opened her eyes, startled.

Ranma was leaning on her heavily, their bodies pressed together. He wasn't looking at her, however. She turned her head, peering out from underneath him to see what the noise had come from.

Where they had been crouched a second before, a ceiling beam now lay, broken and shedding splinters and dust from the rafters. It had slammed down hard enough to crack through the wooden floor, right where her head had been.

"Huh," Ranma said, looking pissed off. He looked up and Akane followed his gaze to the ceiling, where the other half of the beam stuck out crookedly, broken. "So it's true." _The curse works, huh?_

Akane saw his hands tighten into fists. _What's true?_ She blinked up at him, confused. "Ranma?"

"Oh." Ranma seemed to just remember her then, and looked down. "Sorry about scaring you. Just doing an experiment. Don't worry, I wasn't actually gunna to kiss ya or anythin'." He stuck out his tongue at her. Deep down he was furious to see the effects of the curse for himself and was hiding behind his teasing while he tried to sort out what to do.

A fist connected with his face so fast and hard he was blown back onto his knees, then his ass. "Fuc—Akane!"

Akane sat up quickly, still pink. She gathered her blanket around her, covering her body from him. "Ranma – you – you – you IDIOT! IDIOT!" She grabbed one of her textbooks and flung it at him, hitting her mark and sending him skidding backwards and almost into the wall with the sheer force of her throw. "IDIOT! _IDIOT!_ " She was furious at being teased. Ranma was really messing her up tonight! Getting so close to her, being nice to her, pinning her to the ground like that... She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Idiots stay on that side of the dojo! You study over there!" She threw a pencil at him for good measure before turning her back on him. "Don't talk to me the rest of the night!"

Ranma was stunned at her reaction. Also his face fucking hurt. He opened his mouth to argue back, "You didn't have to hit so hard!" _If you only knew what was going on—!_ He seethed, grabbing his book up off the floor. "Fine!" He shouted, turning his back on her too.

He opened to a random page, and then sat there thinking.

Maybe he had deserved that reaction. But she didn't understand why he did it! He sighed, frustrated and angry. He only did that because she wouldn't answer! Why couldn't she just say it?! Now she was all mad at him! And tonight had been so nice so far, too...

 _The ceiling beam though..._ Ranma glanced at it, frowning deeply. _So that's something this curse is capable of causing..._ He remembered the light in her room, too. _No way these are just coincidences..._ Akane wasn't safe. Not in her own room, not in the dojo... Not anywhere. An image of Akane hunched in the snow swam before his eyes, and fury filled him.

He would never let this curse win. He would do whatever it took to break it before Akane could get hurt like that again.

But then, despite himself, a small smile crept onto Ranma's face. _She loves me._ He couldn't keep the smile off his face. He knew for certain now. Of course the curse was terrible, and now they had to face this huge life-threatening problem, and who knew how it was going to turn out, but... _Akane loves me._ It was such a simple sentence with so much meaning. She was angry now – she was always angry it seemed – but she still loved him. Like, _loved_ him.

His anger at the curse was pushed aside momentarily, as Ranma allowed himself a few minutes to revel in the joy that was knowing how Akane felt about him.

On the other side of the room however, Akane was struggling. She had actually tried to go back to studying to distract herself, but she couldn't stop feeling his leg against hers, or seeing his face bending in towards her as he whispered, _"Do you realize it, too? What I'm going to do?"_

 _Auuuggrhhh!_ She wrung her hands in the air in front of her, frustrated. What did he hope to accomplish by acting like this? And what did he mean by saying he was doing an experiment?! "Honestly," she whispered, grinding her teeth.

And what about that beam that fell? She glanced over at the fallen piece of wood. _Dad needs to get better at repairs... Luckily that didn't fall during a class._ Lately it felt like the house was falling apart. _Maybe it's time to spring for some real handymen or something._

Shaking her head, Akane did her best to refocus her attention on the school material in front of her. She flipped over a page, and saw Ranma's handwriting scrawled across it. 'Akane's a cheater!' he had written, along with a big arrow to one of her answers. 'We didn't even learn this in class!' It was from one of the tests they tried to exchange to check each other's work, but the both left such useless comments and critiques it was the last time they tried exchanging them.

Seeing his handwriting made her smile a little. Studying sucked, and Ranma had been practically abusing her emotions tonight, but it was still nice to get this alone time together.

Absent-mindedly, she traced the arrow he had drawn on his paper. _Too bad we can't spend more time like this together..._ She smiled a little bigger. _And he says he wasn't going to kiss me... But he was so close..._

She remembered the question he had asked her, starting all the trouble.

 _... Do you love me too, Ranma?_

A weird feeling swept over her. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was starting to get familiar. Blinking slowly, she felt a sudden urge to get up. To move.

Akane stood up abruptly, making Ranma glance over at her.

She stooped, grabbing their empty plates. "I'm going to wash these," she said clearly, overly pronouncing her words. The blanket slowly slid off and fell from her shoulders as she started walking. Without another word, she padded over to the sliding door of the dojo, opening it and closing it behind her almost robotically.

Ranma stared after her, listening to the clicking of the clock as he was suddenly left alone in the dojo.

"That was weird," he mumbled.

 _Did she finish studying?_ He glanced at her paper. _No..._ Then why had she left so suddenly?

Puzzled, Ranma stared at the door. Did he make her really mad? _She didn't seem mad though..._ She seemed almost... _Spacey._ _Completely out of it..._

"Hm..." He tilted his head to the left. Then to the right.

"Oh," he said shortly. "Oh. Oh shit."

Ranma scrambled to his feet, and raced to the door. "Akane!"

Harsh winter wind slapped him in the face as he ran down the exterior hallway that connected the dojo to the main house. His fingers found the door, but as he yanked on it he realized she had locked it. "Shit!"

His feet trudged through snow as he ran around the side of the house. As he passed a window, he heard a loud clanging from the kitchen. "Shit, no!" He wrenched open the front door, and ran down the hall, swinging himself through the doorway and into the kitchen.

Akane was standing next to the sink. Her long sleeves were soaked with soapy water up to her elbows, like she had plunged them into a full sink. Now she was dripping water onto the floor and a small puddle had formed around her feet. Utensils were scattered around her, on the counter and on the floor.

One hand was splayed flat on the countertop. The other held a large, soapy, dripping kitchen knife.

As if moving in a dream, Akane plunged the knife downward, the tip positioned directly over the center of her other hand. She seemed intent on stabbing through her hand.

With a shout, Ranma leapt forward.

THUMP THUMP, SPLASH!

"Oh," Akane said quietly.

The scene around her rushed into view, like she had just opened her eyes. She looked down at the floor, noticing the puddle of water, and the scattered forks and knives. Then she looked up at her hands, noticing her wet sleeves. "What the..."

Then she saw Ranma.

Ranma was sitting in the sink, slopping water onto the floor. She was in her female form, her red hair soapy from splashing water onto it. In her teeth was a kitchen knife, blade side out. She was wide-eyed, and breathing heavily.

Akane realized her hand was hovering aimlessly in the air, and pulled it back. "Ranma what do you think you're doing? Why are you in the sink? And w-with a knife?!"

"Gee," Ranma mumbled, speaking through gritted teeth clamped on steel. "I wonder..."

Akane stared at her, incredulous. "How did you get here?"

Ranma took the knife out of her mouth, shaking her head. "Why is this w-water cold?" No way would he tell her that he had just slid on his stomach across the countertop and caught a knife with his teeth. _Using my hands would have been easier..._ But those had been preoccupied knocking Akane's hands away to keep them from harm.

"It's been soaking for a few hours," Akane answered quickly. "Why are you sitting in..." She shook her head. "Do I even want to know?"

Ranma pulled herself out of the sink, landing with a squelch on the floor. "Prolly not." She scratched the back of her head. "A-Anyway... I think it's time we call it a night." He wanted to avoid any more close calls tonight.

Akane regarded the short girl in front of her, before slowly bending to the floor. "Yeah, I think so. You're acting weird. You go ahead, let me just clean this mess up, I knocked some utensils over when I was doing dishes..."

"NO!" Ranma grabbed her hands, which had been reaching toward another knife on the floor. "I-I'll clean up! You go to sleep!"

"Nonsense," Akane protested. "I knocked them over, I can-"

"No! Chestnuts roasting over an open fire technique, kitchen edition!" With lightning speed, Ranma scooped up all the forks, spoons, and knives off the floor, and gathered them in a single heap in her other hand. It took another second for her to grab all the ones off the counter, and dump them all in the sink. "See, got it."

Akane gave the pigtailed girl a disturbed look. "Alright..." Curiosity got the better of her. "Ranma, is there something you're not telling me?"

"N-No," Ranma lied quickly. "J-Just, trying to be nice is all! Remember what I said earlier? I wanna help ya sometimes too! Hahaha," she laughed nervously. "Okay, bedtime."

Ranma forcibly put her hands on Akane's back and started pushing her towards the doorway. Akane stumbled, saying, "But, the water on the floor-"

"Yup, yup, I got it. Let me do this for you!" Ranma pushed her out of the room. "Be careful on your way up! Don't trip! And change the bandages on your hands – they're all wet." Then she quickly scurried back into the kitchen, as Akane stood dumbfounded in the hallway.

As she stood there, listening to sounds of Ranma cleaning up, Akane frowned to herself. _He's definitely hiding something._

* * *

The next morning was bright with sunshine, but none of its warmth seemed to reach the ground. Snow was still packed along the roadside after last night's storm, and the sun was barely melting even the thinnest layers of ice. Ice crystals twinkled in the sunlight, and the outside world was the image of a bright sunny winter wonderland.

Inside the school however, the atmosphere was much darker.

They approached the classroom door with trepidation.

"God, I'm so nervous, I'm shaking..."Akane hissed through her teeth.

"No," Ranma said. "You're just shivering because it's so cold outside." Ranma nudged her with his shoulder. "Calm down, remember you got 78% on that last practice test, you'll be fine."

"78.5," she corrected him. Ranma put his hands behind his head and looked away, shrugging.

As they opened the sliding door to the classroom, a loud cry of "Akane!" met their ears. Yuka and Sayuri rushed at her, each girl talking over each other.

"Are you okay?!"

"When you weren't in class yesterday-"

"We went to your house after school but you were asleep-"

"We heard from Kasumi-"

"We should have stayed with you!"

"Shh, shh," Akane shushed them, trying to comfort them. She had kept her bandages on as a precaution, but they felt and looked much better this morning. "I'm totally fine! Don't even worry about me!" She smiled, embarrassed by the attention. "It was my own fault, I was too tired walking home... But don't worry, I got plenty of rest yesterday and now I'm ready to take this test and go on break!"

"Yeah, but-"

Ranma peeked over Akane's head, looking at the teacher's desk. "What's with all the candy?"

Packages of chips, cookies, and candy were stacked haphazardly on top of Ms. Hinako's desk. Behind the large pile, the child teacher sat with her feet up, looking smug.

"Oh." Yuka rolled her eyes. "Ms. Hinako slyly mentioned yesterday that bribes were encouraged."

Akane shook her head as Ranma scoffed.

The bell rang out suddenly, cutting off the conversation. As they each moved to their respective desks, they noticed the thick packets face-down on each student's desk. _The test,_ Akane thought sourly. _This goddamn test._

Once everyone had gotten settled, Ms. Hinako cleared her throat loudly, and stood in front of her desk. She had her hands on her hips, and a haughty smile on her face. "Well class," she said in her high-pitched voice, "this is a test that needs no introductions. You all know why you're here, and I trust that you've all studied your hardest. So, if no one has any questions, turn over your tests and begin!"

The sound of rustling papers filled the classroom, as well as a few whispered prays and 'good luck!'s. Ranma turned over his paper without looking at it, watching Ms. Hinako instead. The young teacher seemed overly pleased about something, and he knew that spelled trouble.

Finally he looked down at the test, and read the first question.

 **1.** What is Hinako Ninomiya's favorite color?

Ranma stared at it blankly. Favorite color? _This must be a freebie question. What's the next one?_

 **2.** What is Hinako Ninomiya's favorite deep-fried food?

"What the..." he mumbled quietly.

 **3.** Where was Hinako Ninomiya born?  
 **4.** What makes Hinako Ninomiya the best teacher in the world? (Multiple answers are encouraged.)  
 **5.** What video game character is Hinao Ninomiya's favorite?

 _Are you fucking kidding me._

Ranma's mood darkened quickly. He looked at the next page, and the one after that, and the one after that... Every single question asked about Ms. Hinako.

This had to be a joke... Ranma sneakily looked up to see if anyone else had noticed.

Yuka and Saiyuri were exchanging glances. Daisuke was flipping through madly, mumbling under his breath. Hiroshi was staring straight down at the paper, looking physically and emotionally exhausted.

Then he turned to look at Akane, and could actually feel the angry energy pouring off of her. She was staring with such intensity at her paper that it looked like she was trying to set it on fire with her eyes. She was clutching her pencil so tightly it looked close to snapping.

A boy in the second row was the first one to raise his hand. "Um... Ms. Hinako?"

"Hmpff?" Ms. Hinako looked up from her desk, her mouth stuffed with a handful of potato chips – one of the gifts bestowed upon her by a terrified student. "Yeff?"

"Um... I think I got the wrong test?" Ms. Hinako sprung off of her chair and pranced over to his desk to look over his shoulder. She swallowed the chips, and responded. "No, that's the right one." She smiled and patted him on the head, before skipping back to the front of the room.

"Uh, well, but..." The boy trailed off, flustered and confused.

Ukyo chimed in, her rage obvious in her tone. "These questions are all about you."

Ms. Hinako took her sweet time, licking the salt off her fingers, and plucked a chocolate out of one of the boxes. She chewed carefully, seemingly ignorant as more and more students looked up at her.

"You see, class." Ms. Hinako hopped up onto her desk, her nimble feet avoiding the goodies, and pointed at the shocked class. "You've all been studying so hard for this test, you've _definitely_ covered everything with a fine-toothed comb! And it's not like I want to spend my Christmas break in here, so I wanted to make sure you'd all pass! Plus, I'm so fun to learn about – feel free to ask me any questions." She winked, striking a pose.

Ranma stood up, slamming his hands on the desk. "Writing a real exam got too hard for you, didn't it?!"

"You just didn't want to grade it, did you?!" Akane shouted nearly at the same time, her pencil finally snapping in two.

Ms. Hinako twitched, and her eyes darted around. She seemed surprised at the angry stares directed at her. She fumbled for her coin, making sure she had it close just in case there was a mutiny. "W-eeell... I mean, we covered so much... And I just recycled the study guides from last year's class, so I didn't realize how much work went into writing an exam... This seemed a lot easier for all of us..."

Groans, grumbles and expletives filled the classroom.

"That explains why I don't remember learning any of this shit!" "Yeah! Last year's class had a different teacher, I bet he actually taught this stuff!" "I studied so hard for _this?!_ " "I spent the last of my Christmas money on those chocolates – give them back!"

Ms. Hinako puffed out her cheeks, stubbornly stamping her foot. "No returns or refunds! I thought you guys would be happy about this!"

"HAPPY!?" Students started standing up, and some were waving the papers in the air. "HOW THE HELL COULD WE BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS?!" "GIVE ME THOSE HOURS OF MY LIFE BACK!"

With fear in her eyes, Ms. Hinako lifted up her hand, her lucky coin balanced in her fingers. "HAPPO FIVE-YEN SATSU!"

* * *

As the school bell rang signaling the beginning of break, Class 1-F struggled out of the school building, some students sleepily dragging themselves through the snow to escape the school yard. As the rest of the student body around them celebrated, Ms. Hinako's students struggled to move, exhausted from having their angry energy sapped from them.

"That bitch...!" Ranma spat through chattering teeth. He was the least affected by her energy-sapping technique, having been subjected to it numerous times before.

"You can... say that... again..." Daisuke huffed, using his body weight to pull his legs through ankle-deep snow.

Hiroshi was too busy focusing his energy on moving to comment, so he just nodded.

"Honestly," Akane huffed, a cloud of frost forming before her lips. She had her arms crossed and was shivering slightly, her footsteps uneven. Ranma kept a close eye on her as they moved, ready to catch her if she stumbled. She was recovering slowly from the happo five-yen satsu, her body still healing from two nights ago. "I don't understand w-what she was th-thinking!"

"S-S-She wasn't!" Yuka and Saiyuri were leaning on each other to stay on their feet. "B-But at least w-we're f-free! And we all p-p-passed!"

"Only because half the class was too weak to f-finish the exam." As Akane took a step and started to careen to the side, she felt Ranma's hand gently guide her back upright. "Th-thanks."

"Yeah," he said casually, still keeping an eye on her. "And the other half started firing study questions at her to see if she could answer 'em. That was the end of it, I think."

"S-She couldn't... even answer... a single one...!" Daisuke grumbled. Hiroshi nodded again, and weakly pointed at a road that branched off from the one they were on. "Oh, r-right, this is us." He waved feebly at the group. "H-Have a good Christmas, g-gang."

"Y-You too," Saiyuri bowed her head best she could. "U-Us too, Y-Yuka and I are g-going this way over here..."

The group shared half-hearted good-byes and well wishes, then went their separate ways – leaving Akane and Ranma to trudge alone toward the Tendo household.

Ranma glanced at Akane as they walked. She was still stumbling in the snow, teetering side-to-side with every step. "You doin' okay?"

Akane nodded quickly. "J-just cold and tired..."

Sheepishly, Ranma scratched his cheek. "I-If you need... I can carry ya..." He shrugged, trying to play it cool, like he wasn't obsessively concerned with her well-being.

Akane looked up at him, suspicious with the nice offer. She opened her mouth slightly, then her eyes grew wide and she yelled, "Ranma!?"

That reaction felt extreme to him, and Ranma immediately got on the defensive. "I-It's not a big deal! It's not because I want to – just because you're so weak an' all! Just forget it moron!" He yelled back.

"N-No! Ranma!" Akane yelled, pointing behind him. "Look out!"

Something went whizzing past his head and imbedded into the concrete of the street, sending snow flying.

"What the-" Ranma did a quick 180, and quickly deflected a spinning chain that threatened to lasso his arm. As throwing knives rained down upon him from several directions, Ranma heard a challenge issued from the treetops.

"Ranma Soatome!" Mousse was balanced on the snow laden branches draping over the street, long chains and weapons dangling from his sleeves. "This time I'm going to finish you off once and for all! Prepare yourself! Hup!"

Mousse jumped down, throwing a spiky ball attached to a chain as he leapt.

"Waaah!" Akane shrieked as the ball came careening toward her. Ranma acted quickly, kicking it off to the side, and stood defensively in front of Akane.

"Where do you think you're aiming?!" Ranma yelled, running at Mousse. Ducking under another weapon and chain, Ranma struck Mousse with an upper cut to the chin which sent him flying backwards. "Put on your damn glasses!"

Mousse spun midair, landing on his feet. "Don't argue," he yelled, throwing out a rope with a hook on the end that got behind Ranma's ankle, "and fight!" He pulled, and Ranma's foot slid out from under him. Ranma moved quickly, shifting his weight to his other foot and grabbing the rope with his hands, he pulled back getting Mousse off balance. Mousse stepped out and caught himself, but by the time he looked up Ranma was on him – the pigtailed martial artist grabbed him by the shoulders, and flipped him onto his back.

"Fuck you," Mousse swore. He wiggled underneath him, struggling to get another weapon out. "I won't let you get away with what you did to Shampoo!"

Ranma was momentarily dumbfounded.

"What _I_ did to Shampoo?!" Ranma practically spat, his anger spiking. "It's what _she_ did to _A-_!"

"Shut up!" Mousse hissed back, looking at him fiercely. "She hasn't stopped crying for two days - since she saw you! What did you say to her? What did you do?!"

"Two nights ago?" Ranma looked up as Akane repeated Mousse. She looked at Ranma, confusion and sadness playing across her face. "You were with her that night?" She remembered Ranma saying Shampoo had stopped by – or had come crashing through the window - but what was Mousse talking about?

"Er-," Ranma started, his body involuntarily moving toward Akane, relaxing his grip on Mousse. "No, I -"

"Hah!" Mouuse laughed, as he lashed out with a heavy chain that he swung over his head like a helicopter blade. Ranma was forced to let go of him and leap up to avoid it. He went over it as easy as if it were a jump rope, but as it swung out its length grew – and suddenly Akane was its next target.

"R-Ranma!" she yelled, staring at it in shock.

"Shit – move, idiot!" Ranma ran toward her, knowing that from this distance he would never make it...

At the last moment, Akane dove forward and landed on her stomach in the snow with a dull 'whump' and a muffled cry. The chain swept over her head, clipping a few stands of hair, but otherwise leaving her unharmed.

Ranma swore again, slowing his run. He looked over his shoulder at Mousse. "Gonna have to get away," he mumbled, thinking that Akane was in danger being this close to their fight – also that he didn't want her overhearing anything more about Shampoo, for risk of Mousse mentioning the curse if he knew about it.

"Sorry, Akane," he yelled, jumping up on top of a nearby fence, balancing carefully on the icy metal. "Get home safe – I'll meet you there."

Akane sat up, dusting the snow off her coat, and looked over at him, "Ranma - what -"

"Yikes," Ranma exclaimed, swinging his body away from another one of Mousse's attacks. "Mousse! Follow me, you blind rat!"

Ducking, Ranma ran off with Mousse swearing and hot on his heels, as Akane stared worriedly after him.

"Be careful," she whispered, sighing.

* * *

 _We should be far away enough._

Ranma rolled off the tree he was in, and landed in fresh snow. They were near the school now, in one of the empty grass fields. He spun on his heel to face his approaching enemy, his body assuming a defensive position.

Mousse burst out from the tree line, covered in snow, his outfit askew. Leaves and branches dotted his hair. "Ranma Saotome! I've finally caught up to you!"

He was pointing at a snowman, its face crooked with a sad wilting carrot sticking out.

Peeved, Ranma scooped up a ball of snow, and threw it at the back of his head. "Oy. Put on your glasses."

"Hm?" Mousse finally rested his frames on his nose, and leaned in to get a closer look at the snowman. "Ranma, you look pale with fear."

"You...!" Ranma threw another snowball at him. "I'm over here, duck-boy!"

Mousse staggered forward with the blow, and looked over his shoulder. "Ah-ha! Trying to sneak away?"

He faced Ranma, pointing accusingly at him. "You ingrate! What did you do to Shampoo?!"

"I was tryin' to tell you," Ranma growled, his fingers curling into fists at the sound of her name, "I did nothin' to her. She's the one that messed with me!"

The glasses-wearing martial artist shook his head. "You did something wrong! Why else won't Shampoo stop crying?! I can't stand to see Shampoo acting like this, especially over someone like you."

Ranma tensed. "I don't care if she cries so much she drowns." _Hearing her name is really... pissing me off._

Mousse looked flabbergasted. "W-What did you say? I won't stand for hearing you speak about Shampoo like this!"

He had only seconds to react as Mousse leapt at him, throwing several weapons at him at once. "You," Ranma spoke between gritted teeth as he deflected the first weapon, "don't," he brushed the next one off to the side, leaning forward into a run, "understand," he grabbed the third weapon – a braided chain with a spike on the end – and turned it back around on Mousse, wrapping it around his wrists, "a thing about that bitch."

Mousse struggled against the chain binding his hands together until that last word. This time Mousse looked like his eyes would fall out of his head. "Whatdidyousay?! I won't hear you call dear Shampoo such a vile name—"

"Stop saying her name," Ranma whispered, his blood boiling. He tightened his grip on the chain around Mousse's hands, keeping him from getting another hidden weapon out.

But Mousse continued talking, missing the anger in Ranma's face.

"—such a lovely girl doesn't deserve the likes of you—"

"Don't compliment her," Ranma's voice was laced with rage.

"—does nothing but bring light into this world with her beautiful face—"

"You don't understand anything," Ranma was breathing heavily, barely containing his fury.

"—if she were here right now I'd propose to her yet again—"

"Seriously Mousse," Ranma snarled, his body shaking with adrenaline, "shut the fuck up."

"—she deserves so much better, and yet Shampoo loves _you_ —"

Something in Ranma snapped.

"Love?!"

Ranma's fist connected with Mousse's face, short range. It was a cheap shot – he still held Mousse's hands together with his own chain, preventing Mousse from defending – but suddenly, for the first time in a long time, Ranma was blind with rage and the code didn't apply.

The two boys fell back, Ranma on top of Mousse. Ranma wound the extra chain around his own fist, and struck Mousse across the face with his knuckles wrapped in metal.

"Get it through your damn skull!" Ranma's other fist pounded into the side of Mousse's head, sending his head snapping around to the other side.

He was furious. How _dare_ Mousse try to defend Shampoo! He didn't even know what she had done, he was just protecting her because he had this insane idea he was in love with Shampoo when he didn't even know what she was truly like. Mousse was blind even with his glasses if he could miss seeing the monstrous things she was capable of doing in the name of 'love'.

Ranma yanked on the chain, pulling his arms up and over his head, and laid another thick punch coated in steel into his face.

"You think what she does is out of love?! Bullshit!"

Mousse finally reacted, bringing his feet up to his chest, and kicked him off of him. Because of the chain connecting them the weight of Ranma flying backward helped bring Mousse to his feet. The Chinese martial artist steadied himself, his vision swimming, then ran forward, using his head as a battering ram to nail Ranma in the chest.

Ranma grunted, catching him around the head as he was pushed backwards from the force of the hit. He left two trails in the snow of where his feet dragged backwards. "You think," Ranma struggled out, "she's capable of loving?"

He kneed Mousse in the stomach, sending him reeling, then grabbed the chain to pull him closer, and sent a side-kick into his skull that sent him dropping to the ground.

"She's heartless, a monster who will do anything to get what she wants, no matter the cost—" He walked up to Mousse, fury pounding in his temples, and kicked him in the side, sending him rolling across the ground. "No matter who she hurts!"

He pulled on the chain sharply, like a leash, but Mousse barely reacted. Ranma stood over him, and looked at what he'd done. His anger was misplaced and he knew that. Looking at Mousse now, he realized he had gone overboard. The boy's face was broken open and bleeding, and he was curled up from the pain in his side. He seemed barely conscious from the kick to his head.

But listening to him defending Shampoo... when Ranma _knew_ she didn't tell Mousse the truth... Seeing her manipulate him, and him just accept it, brought Ranma to a level of anger he hadn't felt very often before.

"No more of this shit." Ranma roughly grabbed Mousse by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him up off his knees. Mousse's ankles dragged in the snow, his body limp from the beating. He was bruised and broken, the fight in him gone.

"You tell her not to come around anymore. I'm done. I'm done with that psycho bitch nonsense of hers. If she comes near Akane again, if she does anything else to her, if she even shows me her face again," he lifted Mousse up to eye level, and stared at him with a deadly glint in his eye, "I'll kill her."

A cold wind blew, ruffling their clothes, Ranma's word hanging in the air.

"You tell her that." Ranma released Mousse, letting him fall to his knees in this snow.

Watching the other martial artist heave with heavy breaths of pain did nothing to soothe his anger. If anything, it made him even angrier – to think this man would fight to the death for Shampoo. He didn't know what a monster she really was.

Mousse coughed violently, doubling over. Blood dripped, the snow turning red. Finally he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and spoke with a slight lisp that suggested his cheek was swollen, "You... don't have to... take out your anger at her... on me...! You almost... killed me!"

Ranma looked at him, a bad taste in his mouth. "If you _were_ her, you'd be dead."

It chilled him to speak so threateningly. But it chilled him even more to realize how serious his words really were.

Ranma decided to leave without another word, disappearing into the tree line, heading back toward where they came from. He knew if he stayed any longer and Mousse said anything else, he really might kill him.

Alone in the clearing now, Mousse coughed again, struggling to find his glasses in the snow – they had fallen off after the kick to his side sent him rolling. His fingers found the freezing metal and he put them on, letting their cold leech into the hot wounds on his face.

"Shampoo..." he mumbled, trying and failing to struggle to his feet. "I... did as you asked..."

A sniffle sounded from behind a nearby tree. Purple hair covered shaking shoulders.

"I tried...to make him see... your beauty how I see it..." he huffed, "I need...to avenge you... I...am so...sorry... Next time, definitely, I'll...make him pay..."

Exhaustion overtook the near-sighted boy, and he lapsed into unconsciousness as he fell forward onto the ground.

It took several minutes for Shampoo to find the strength to stand up. Once she was up, the sobs wracking her body threatened to send her back to the ground. Finding strength she slowly stepped out from behind a tree and walked over to Mousse's unconscious body. As she walked, she struggled to clear her cheeks of tears. Every time she wiped her face, a new tear would fall. She just couldn't stop them! She thought that after a full night and day of crying she wouldn't have any tears left...

Shampoo stood over the fallen boy, holding her arms to her body from the cold. "M-Mousse," she sobbed quietly, and fell to her knees in the snow. She laid her head down on his back, and buried her face. She couldn't even blame him – this time, it really was all her fault.

It had not taken a lot of convincing to get Mousse to call Ranma out for her. All it took were tears – which she had plenty of – and a vague hint that Ranma was involved in the reason she was crying, and Mousse was off with Shampoo following close behind. Her original plan was to use Mousse to gauge Ranma's anger – and maybe if the conversation had gone well she could have stepped out and apologized on the spot, hoped he would forgive her...

Instead she had been forced to listen silently as Ranma promised her death by his hands.

Mousse was right, he had done as she asked. But it definitely wasn't what she wanted to hear.

* * *

As Ranma bounced from rooftop to rooftop, he thought back sourly on his fight with Mousse. Even though he knew he went overboard, Ranma wouldn't apologize. He gave Mousse plenty of chances to stop – he warned him to stop talking, but Mousse wouldn't listen. It was Mousse's own fault he got beat up so badly.

 _Yeah,_ he thought bitterly, _just keep telling yourself that._

It hadn't been an honorable fight, he knew that, but this time emotions had won out. _At least I sent the message,_ he thought. _Hopefully Mousse will pass it on. If she tries anything in revenge..._ His fingers curled into fists at the thought that she might still come and try to find him.

If Shampoo got him as riled up as Mousse had, his fight with her might be even less honorable than that last one. And a lot more fatal.

As Ranma rounded the corner and the Tendo dojo came into sight, he slowed his run. He could see their footprints leaving the house, but there were no pairs of returning ones. The gate, too, looked like it hadn't been opened since this morning. Which meant Akane hadn't come home yet.

"Oh damn it all," Ranma sighed, turning on his heel. "Where is she now?!" He had let his anger get the best of him and it had hurt Mousse, and now Akane too. He should have hurried their fight up, ended it sooner so he could go back and find her. Now she was god knows where.

Ranma returned to the rooftops, trying to get a better vantage view. He found his way back to where he had left her on the street, but the paths of many people's footprints kept him from discerning which way she went.

Instead the pigtailed boy wound his way around Nerima, checking their usual spots and restaurants she may have decided to wander into. While he was praying she didn't collapse again somewhere, he knew it was a possibility, and kept his eyes open for her slumped on the ground.

As he hopped along roofs, down one street he saw a familiar sight – Ryoga and his umbrella, in the middle of one of the bridges over the river.

 _Hm, that pig has an uncanny ability to find Akane..._ Lately it seemed she was the only thing he could find on purpose. _Maybe he's seen her._

"Yo, Ryoga!" Ranma jumped down from the nearest rooftop, landing in a snow pile behind the other young martial artist. "Have you seen Akane?"

Now that he was closer, he realized the other boy was on the ground on his knees, his backpack and umbrella slumped in the snow next to him. Ryoga looked over his shoulder at Ranma, and didn't stand up or return his greeting. His expression was one of pure anger – his eyes were livid, his mouth in a tight line.

Ranma, confused, stepped closer. "Wha-?"

As he moved, Ranma saw what was making Ryoga look so upset – sprawled on the ground, with her head in his lap, was Akane. She was unconscious and pale, her lips parted slightly. Ryoga had his hands on his shoulders, like he had caught her as she fell.

"Ranma," Ryoga growled, "can you tell me what the hell is going on?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up! I definitely suffered some writer's block after I worried that the first part of this chapter rambled on and lacked a lot of action, but after struggling with disappointing/half-hearted re-writes I figured it was better to get this chapter out and move on than risk stopping. Also I got a kitten recently soooooooo I've been pretty distracted. (she's really cute guys T_T)

(Also I couldn't remember the English version of 'Happo Five-Yen Satsu' – if someone could tell me, I'll edit that appropriately in the chapter. Thanks!)

 **Edit 3/12/16:** Changed the timeline error Mousse made. ;)


	6. Guilt and Pride

**Close to Death**  
AliasAlien  
June 2016

 **Chapter 6: Guilt and Pride**

Ryoga Hibiki walked steadily through the snow with his umbrella, his eyes and heart focused on a faraway face that existed in his memory.

 _Akane..._ The girl whose beauty haunted his dreams.

 _Akane..._ The girl whose smile shook him the core.

 _Akane..._ The girl whose laughter made his heart sing.

 _And Akane... The girl I will likely never see again._

With a deep sigh, Ryoga turned his focus up onto the sky. He had finally made a decision. Akane had been his first love, his first passion, and the first girl who made him want to be better than he was. But it was Akari, a girl he'd met while in the throngs of his unrequited love for Akane, who accepted all parts of him. She was thoughtful, giving, sweet, and took him for who he was. _If only I could have them both..._ Ryoga shook his head. "But no!" He was no two-timer. _Unlike that Ranma…_

The thought of giving Akane over to Ranma sickened him. But for his love for Akari to blossom, he knew he had to give up on Akane. And as much as Ryoga hated to admit it, despite all of his flaws Ranma was doing a well enough job to keep Akane safe. He'd proved it at Jusenkyo, when Ranma had risked his life and a chance to cure himself of his curse to keep her safe. Not to mention Akane's equal sacrifice for Ranma: it spoke leagues to him that she would make a sacrifice like that for the pig-tailed boy. Not to mention a sacrifice Ryoga could hardly see her making for him.

 _As for me, I can't even tell her the truth about me._ Ryoga's face twisted up in anger. _About this cursed body of mine!_ His fingers curled into fists, noble tears welling at the edges of his eyes. "I love her, and yet, I do not deserve her. She does not need one such as myself plaguing her doorstep, uninvited."

Ryoga rounded a corner on the street, his eyes trained on the sky. "Akane. I fear that we will never meet again. But perhaps," he sighed, his soul one of a martyr, "it is for the best... for you." If she could be kept safe even without Ryoga around her, well, then, maybe he could accept losing her.

"And now," he lowered his head, speaking to the snow drifts at his feet, "I do not even know what I would say if I were to see her... So it's best this way. To stay far, far, far away from—"

Ryoga finally looked up, and realized he was not three feet from the girl he was pledging to hide from, forever, "—Akane."

The two teenagers faced each other on the bridge, both stopped still in their tracks.

Ryoga stared at her, his mouth open in shock. Akane looked back at him, her eyes wide.

"A-A-A-A," he stuttered finally, "A-Akane!" Ryoga flung his umbrella to the side as he waved his arms in shock, and a high-pitched laughter worked its way up from his throat.

"Hahahah-how are you?! I-It's been a while!" He rose his hand awkwardly. "Yo! Hey!" _Fuck_ , he cursed himself. _I didn't even know I was still in Japan, let alone in her hometown..._

 _Maybe,_ an intrusive thought worked its way into his mind, _it's fate. Right while I was at the precipice of abandoning all hope for my love for Akane, I find her here in front of me! That must be it_ , he thought as his hope raised like a bird taking flight, _it's a sign!_

"H-How's school been?!" Ryoga continued aloud, trying to collect himself. He was grinning like an idiot at this point, teeth showing from ear to ear. "I-It's gotten cold recently, hasn't it?! Hahahaha..."

He blinked at Akane and noticed she hadn't moved. Instead her eyes had remained focused on him. All that had changed was her lips had parted in a strange, unnerving smile. Ryoga started to frown. Then he noticed her hands.

Her fingers and her palms were wrapped in white bandages that disappeared under her sleeves. He took a step forward, concern flooding him and making him forget his awkwardness. "Hey, what happened to you–" he started to ask, before Akane creaked to life. Like a doll she moved stiffly, lifted one leg, and placed it down. Then she lifted in the other, turning herself to the left. Slowly, she stumbled straight-legged towards the edge of the bridge overlooking the water. Far below, the normally shallow canal had swollen with the melting snow and was rushing – ice cold and quickly – beneath their feet.

"Oh, uh," he said slowly as she climbed up over the short wall that ran along the bridge, "did you drop something down there?" He walked over, looking curiously down into the icy rapids below.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryoga saw her body falling over the edge.

"W-Wah!" Ryoga yelled as he jumped forward and hooked Akane's waist with the crook of his arms. The weight of her threatened to pull him over as well but Ryoga planted his feet against the small lip edge of the bridge and pushed against it, flinging them back onto the bridge. The two tumbled backwards into the snow, Ryoga landing first, Akane landing on him.

"Phewf," Ryoga exhaled a sigh of relief. "You okay?" Ryoga looked at the back of Akane's head. "A-ah," he laughed nervously, "y-you need to be careful! You could have been hurt!"

Akane remained silent. Ryoga, curious, leaned forward, his chin brushing against her shoulder. "Hm?" Suddenly their proximity made him nervous. He glanced down modestly, then realized his arms were still clasping her body tightly to him in a hug and she was sitting in his lap.

"OH." His arms shot straight up into the air, as he blushed brilliantly red. "OH, I'm so sorry! S-Sorry! Sorry! Ahaha AH sorry!" He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or hold her again. _Oh what she must be thinking..._ "I-I didn't mean to, I-I mean, I'm sorry – I just thought – just tried to – "

As he rambled on, Akane bent forward and struggled back to her feet. _Oh she seems pissed._ She wasn't even talking to him! Ryoga looked up at her nervously, fidgeting quietly by himself, waiting for her to talk. Instead, however, the black haired girl ignored him completely and made her way back to the edge of the bridge, her footsteps unsteady. Ryoga watched on, his concern rising. "H-Hey, wait," he stuttered, rising forward, reaching for her.

As if expecting to be able to walk on air, Akane stepped off the bridge and over the edge.

"No!" Ryoga leapt forward to catch her under the arms this time – barely. "Nngh," he grunted, and hoisted her back up, placing her back on her feet. He released her again and stepped up next to her to look into her face. "A-Akane, sorry, but what do you think you're—"

Her eyes were looking straight ahead, glossy and unfocused. Her expression had changed to one of concern with her eyebrows stitched together, a small frown on her lips as she mumbled, "Ran...ma..."

Ryoga's eyebrows came together and he looked toward where her eyes were focused in the distance. "You, uh, you see him?"

In answer, Akane stepped forward again, tipping forward over the edge.

"What- no – stop that!" Ryoga grabbed her around the waist again, and dragged her backwards, keeping her on her feet. "Akane, it's dangerous—"

Again she stepped forward. _Is she trying to kill herself?!_

"Akane, no!" Ryoga tugged her backwards yet again, this time keeping his arms wrapped around her. It made his face flush and his ears turn red. "I'm not letting go until y-you stop...!"

They stood there, silently, Ryoga's heart beating in his ears. _She's so close..._ Holding her like this, him standing behind her, her body pressed against his, they felt...

 _LIKE A COUPLE!_ Ryoga did his best to hold back tears, biting his lower lip. He could feel the rise and fall of her breathing, faintly smell her shampoo, feel her warmth seeping into him... Ryoga closed his eyes, praying for this intimate moment of hugging her close to him to never end.

Then, abruptly, Akari's smiling face swam before him.

Almost immediately he released her, feeling disgusted with himself. He was no better than Ranma, like this. Holding one girl, and yet thinking of another. He put a hand to his face in despair, sighing heavily. "A-Akane, I'm sorry... I-I cannot be true to myself when I'm near you... Please," he looked up desperately, "try to understa— OY!"

Akane had vanished from before him. Instead, she was back at the edge of the bridge, tipping forward dangerously.

 _OK, that's enough!_ "Forgive me, Akane," he grumbled, realizing something wasn't right. "But this is for the best!" As he reached for her again, his left hand found the nap of her neck, and his index finger and thumb sunk into a pressure point.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Akane sunk into unconsciousness, falling backwards into Ryoga's arms. Ryoga lowered her gently to the ground, chewing on his lip. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he mumbled with a sigh. He sank onto the ground as well, letting her head rest on his knees to keep her face out of the snow. With a heavy sigh, Ryoga hung his head. Then he quickly brought it up as the situation sunk in. "What the hell was all that?! Something is definitely wrong with her!" He looked from her bandaged hands to her sleeping face, bewildered with what had just happened.

That was so dangerous! Akane hadn't been acting like herself at all. What could have caused this? And what were the reason for her hands? As he stared at her face and tried to piece it all together, something clicked in his brain. _Well_ , he reasoned, _the person who would probably know what was going on would be—_

Ryoga heard the sound of crunching snow as someone stepped up to him. "Yo, Ryoga!"

The sound of that voice sent a bolt of anger through him. _Of fucking course._

"Have you seen Akane?" Ryoga looked over his shoulder, shooting daggers in the direction of Ranma Soatome. He watched on, furious, as Ranma took in the scene before him, confusion playing across his face. And yet, there was a glimmer of understanding that made Ryoga want to punch him.

"Ranma," Ryoga growled, his fingers tightening on Akane's shoulders, struggling to contain his growing rage, "can you tell me what the hell is going on?"

* * *

"...and that's where you found us," Ryoga finished with a snarl. "So will you finally explain to me what's happening to Akane?!"

"Tried to jump off the bridge, huh?" Ranma mumbled, ignoring his friend's question. "That isn't good..." Ranma shifted the weight of the unconscious Akane sleeping on his back, as his feet continued to propel them both forward toward the doctor's office in a run.

After discovering Ryoga and Akane, Ranma had swept her up onto his back with hardly a word to Ryoga before he started running away with her. Ryoga had caught up quickly however, demanding an explanation, to which Ranma said he'd get only after he told Ranma what had happened on the bridge. Thus Ryoga had jumped into the story of Akane's relentless attempts to drown herself, and by the time he finished they were only a block away from Dr. Tofu's day practice.

"Ranma, the only reason you're not under my fist is because you're holding Akane. If you don't tell me what's going on—"

"Yea, yea," Ranma grumbled, glancing sideways at the worked-up martial artist running next to him. "I got it. You'll get your explanation, let's just get her inside first." _This way I can finally ask that man about the curse, too..._

"Dr. Tofu!" Ranma used his foot to kick open the door and came bursting in.

The office was empty save for the lone figure across the room. The bespectacled doctor looked up in surprise from his desk. "Ranma? Ryoga? What's happened now?" Dr. Tofu grew serious and stood up as soon as he noticed Akane. "I see. Come back this way with me, lay her down on the bed over here..."

Ranma and Ryoga followed Dr. Tofu to a segmented hospital room, and Ranma slowly lowered Akane onto the bed. As Ryoga explained the use of a pressure point and Dr. Tofu started listening to her heart with a stethoscope, Ranma's eyes were focused on Akane's face. _I let her down again..._ His fingers curled into familiar fists of frustration. _I left her alone, and look what happened... If Ryoga hadn't been there, who knows where I would have found her... If she'd still be alive..._

"—should only be for a little while," Dr. Tofu was saying to Ryoga. "Her vitals seem fine, so—"

BANG!

Both men jumped as Ranma punched the wall. "Damn it." Ranma punched the wall again, a small dent forming in the paint. "Damn it!" He reeled back for another punch, but Tofu caught it before he made contact. Ranma clenched his teeth, glaring at Dr. Tofu.

"Ranma," the doctor said calmly, "please don't punch a hole in my wall. Or I'll make you fix and repaint the entire office." Dr. Tofu gave Ranma a reassuring smile.

Ranma looked into his face, letting his anger ebb away slowly. He lowered his arm as Tofu released him. He shuffled his feet, embarrassed about his outburst. "H-Hey... About... what you said... yesterday..." Ranma looked over at Akane. "... I need your help with something."

Dr. Tofu considered him silently for a moment before he nodded his head knowingly. "I'll make some tea. Go have a seat in my office."

* * *

"The old ghoul called it 'The Curse of Almost Death,'" Ranma said, halfway through his explanation of the curse plaguing Akane. His tea sat untouched on the table in front of him. He was sitting cross-legged on a chair in Dr. Tofu's office, his hands tucked under his legs in his lap. Keeping all his limbs contained was the only way to keep himself from hitting something out of frustration. That Akane was unconscious yet again because of this curse upset him more than words could explain. Knowing that she had come so close to hurting herself again, and that this time it was Ryoga who had saved her, also left a bitter taste in his mouth that the tea wasn't likely to get out. Ranma closed his eyes tightly. _I should have been there... How could I leave her, again..._

Unlike Ranma, Ryoga was not trying to hide his emotions. He had fumed when he heard about Ranma finding Akane alone in the snow, yelled when he heard that the curse had been put on Akane because of Ranma's crazy fiancée Shampoo, but it was hearing the name of the curse that made him lose it. He slammed both his hands down on the table, making the tea cups bounce. "Are you shitting me?! Ranma you've caused some fucked up things to happen but this is a whole new level!" Ryoga grabbed the front of Ranma's shirt from across the table and pulled him forward roughly. "This is her _life_ we're talking about, for fuck's sake."

"You think I don't know that?!" Ranma yelled back, his feet finding the floor. "You wanna fight about it? Because I'll use any excuse to beat the crap out of something right now," he growled, more than glad to direct his anger toward Ryoga.

"Now, now." Dr. Tofu placed a hand on each boy's chest. He pushed without much effort against them but it was strong enough to send them both back into their chairs. "This is a place for healing, not fighting." The normally serene doctor was looking deathly serious. "Ranma, continue." Unlike Ryoga, Dr. Tofu had remained quiet and composed during the entire explanation, only moving to silence the other boy's outbursts.

With a last glare at Ryoga, Ranma turned to the doctor. "Well, erm, it's like that. Akane will keep getting into these dangerous situations and if she's still alive at the end of the ten days she loses the ability to fall in love with anyone. The old lady said it's incurable. Except for..." Ranma trailed off.

"Except for? What?!" Ryoga growled, his fingers clenching the tabletop.

"Ranma?" Tofu coaxed gently, watching as Ranma turned away to look at the floor.

"Except for," he said slowly, "if she can fall out of love with me by then, she'll be spared."

"So what's the problem then?" Ryoga couldn't remain still any longer and stood up, looking down his nose at Ranma. "We make her hate you – the sooner the better to make sure she doesn't get hurt any further."

Dr. Tofu was looking silently at Ranma, who remained staring gloomily at the floor. "It's not that simple, is it?" he asked quietly. "What else is there?"

Ranma tilted his head back and forth in an anxious habit, cracking his joints. He refused to look at anyone, realizing how selfish the next thing he said would sound. "If she comes to hate me, she'll never love me again. She'll live. And she'll be able to fall in love. But not with me. Never again with me."

Ryoga scoffed. "Really? _Really, Ranma?!_ How she ever fell in love with such an arrogant bastard like you in the first place is beyond me. Be a man, Ranma!" He grunted as Ryoga grabbed him again, and winced at the expression on his face. Ryoga was looking at him with a mixture of disgust and disappointment. "If I can give up on her for the sake of her happiness, surely you can forget her in order to _save her life_."

Ranma grit his teeth and looked away from Ryoga. He couldn't face Ryoga's expression or his words. "Obviously if there's no other way, I have no choice! But I have to try to find another way to solve this! There has to be another way!" Ranma looked at Dr. Tofu, searching his face desperately. "There has to be. Have you ever heard of this?"

"Hm," came the short response from Dr. Tofu. "The description of it stirs up some... memories, possibly related or not. Can you tell me – are there any other names for the curse?"

Pulling Ryoga's fists off of him, Ranma sat back down and thought for a moment. "Um, something about 'scorned love', 'heartbreak for ten days', something like that. The old ghoul said it's a rare curse, but it's been around for a long time."

Pushing his glasses back up his nose, Dr. Tofu nodded sagely. "Give me some time to consult my books."

"Time?" Ryoga shook his head, regarding Ranma with hateful eyes. "It sounds to me that with each passing minute Akane's at risk. Ranma!" He yelled, making a sweeping motion with his arm. "If you really, truly care about her..."

Ryoga exhaled.

"Let her go, man."

Ranma looked at him suddenly, feeling cold sweep through his veins. Ryoga's tone had shifted abruptly – he hadn't heard Ryoga talk so quietly and passionately before.

Ryoga put a hand to his own forehead, and swept it backwards over his head. "If you don't do what's best for her you don't deserve her. Really, if you put your feelings before her life... You have lost the capability to watch over her and keep her safe."

Those painful words hung in the air and blanketed the room in silence. Ranma was truly at a loss on how to respond. He could only gape at Ryoga, whose intense gaze was unwavering, sincere, and angry.

"R-Ryoga…"It was the honesty of his words that stung so much, and the sincerity that shook him. _What... What do I do...? Akane..._

"Ryoga," Dr. Tofu's sudden and sharp tone cut through the air like a whip.

Ryoga stood up a little straighter at the commanding tone in Tofu's voice. "Er- yeah?"

"Will you check on our patient, please?" Dr. Tofu stepped up to the table, picking up the tea tray and guiding it into his hands. "The pressure point technique you used should be wearing off soon. Bring this tea in please, and make sure she doesn't wake up alone."

With a last glance in Ranma's direction, Ryoga walked out of the room.

Silence once again filled the room as Ranma looked down in despair at his hands, and Dr. Tofu observed him from next to the table. Ranma flexed his fingers, Ryoga's voice ringing in his ears. _I don't... deserve her? I can't... keep her safe anymore?_ Was it true? Was this the reality of the situation now? _Do I need to... give her up...? Is that how you take care of someone you love?_

Dr. Tofu cleared his throat. "Ranma..."

He cut him off without looking up. His eyes were clouded in shadow as he said, barely above a whisper, "Maybe he's right. Maybe I should just give in, do the right thing."

Dr. Tofu sighed, and leaned against the table. "When it comes to matters of the heart, determining what is truly 'the right thing' to do is nearly impossible." He folded his arms. "Ryoga is equally concerned about Akane, and is speaking with a lot of emotion. Don't take all his words at face value."

Ranma nodded weakly. He struggled to shake off his self-doubt for now, and looked up desperately at Tofu. "So... Do you know about this curse?"

The doctor thought carefully. "No... and yes. While I can't remember learning about this curse specifically, some details sound familiar. I have some texts in mind to consider, and I may be able to find something to help you."

Ranma's face lit up with hope for the first time since finding Ryoga and Akane on the bridge. Relief washed over him. "Dr. Tofu, thank you—"

He held up a hand, silencing the younger man. "I can't make any promises though, Ranma. This curse sounds like rare dark magic. There may be no way to escape its demands. Even if there _is_ a way to circumvent the intention of the curse, it may not be documented anywhere. I'm going to look my hardest, but I need you to be prepared that such a cure might not exist.

"That being said, you do need to make a decision. You need to decide that if we can't find a cure, what are you willing to give up? What sacrifices are you willing to make? And when must you be ready to make those sacrifices?"

Ranma fidgeted uncomfortably as Dr. Tofu crossed his arms. He knew what Dr. Tofu was implying. _If all else fails... If we can't find a cure... I need to let her go._ That, and he needed to decide before it was too late, if it meant saving her life, and her chance at happiness. The thought was a heavy realization that struck him painfully. _Damnit..._ After several moments of silence, all Ranma could muster up was a weak, "Yeah. Y-Yeah, I will." He hadn't felt this helpless since Jusenkyo.

The clock on the wall ticked away as the two men sat in silence: Ranma absorbed in emotions, Tofu giving him his space while trying to remain as a comforting presence. Slowly, voices from the next room over floated in, alerting them both that Akane had woken up.

Ranma listened to the quiet sound of her voice, unable to make out any words. He heard her laugh softly, and it sent a jolt through his stomach. _How can I let her go?_

Ranma finally looked into Dr. Tofu's face, his expression flat. "... You promise you'll look?"

A sympathetic smile was sent his way with a nod. "Yes. I'll do my best."

"Mm," Ranma nodded. "Thanks."

Another minute passed in silence, save for the voices from Akane and Ryoga. He swore he heard Akane say his name. Ranma sniffed once.

"Even… Even if you don't find anything…" Ranma curled his fingers into fists. "I'm going to find a way to stop this. Even if I have to create it myself. I'll find a way." He released his fingers, trying to convince himself. "I'll find a way."

Dr. Tofu nodded silently, smiling slightly. He uncrossed his arms, and stood up straighter. "I'll go check on them. Join us when you're ready."

As he walked to the door, Dr. Tofu paused in the doorway. "Ranma, one more thing.

"If Akane's life is in danger, she does deserve to know. At least enough to protect herself. If you neglect to inform her of what dangers exist to her, and she gets hurt, then that regret will follow you," he made sure Ranma was looking at him before he finished, "and be on your shoulders."

The doctor left without another word, leaving Ranma to struggle with his guilt and his pride.

* * *

The sound of curtains shuffling. The smell of herbal tea. The touch of blankets wrapped in warmth. And then the sight of the room as she opened her eyes and stiffly sat up.

She blinked sleepily, her mind in a fog. She was confused and disoriented. It felt like she had fallen asleep right in the middle of something. … _What was it?_ And these weren't the surroundings she was used to. ... _Where am I?_

She heard someone stir next to her, and she turned her head.

"Hey, Akane."

The dark haired boy was smiling, and her adrenaline kicked in. She inhaled sharply, flinching backwards, about to scream – then his bandana came into view, and his face morphed into that of a different boy than she was expecting. She exhaled her breath weakly.

It was Ryoga who was smiling at her – though it had turned into a more uncertain expression at her reaction. "Y-You okay?"

Akane stared at him, flashes of memory washing over her.

She was walking home with Ranma when Mousse had appeared. They were fighting. Then they left, and she was tempted to follow, but was too tired to run after them. _Then I stared walking home..._

 _And then what happened?_

The details were incredibly fuzzy. She remembered walking home, her mind on Christmas and Ranma...

Her mind had wandered to last Christmas, when she had given Ranma his scarf and he had given her the picture frame. She thought back and remembered the few moments of silence they shared together in the attic, just looking at each other... And when Ranma had whispered her name... _Oh if only he would finish his sentences! Instead of denying everything! Just tell me you love –_

" _Ah, sorry," Ranma slid his hand into hers, pulling her to a stop. "I never finish saying what I mean, huh?"_

 _Akane looked at him, surprised to see him right next to her, wearing the same scarf she had made for him a year ago._

Wasn't he just fighting Mousse though?

" _You're wearing it," she said, feeling a blush touch her cheeks._

" _Of course!" Ranma exclaimed, sliding his hand along the side of her face. "You made it for me." Here he grew awkward, speaking clumsily out of the side of his mouth. "So I have to cherish it."_

 _Akane glowed, leaning into his touch. "I'm glad you like it."_

 _Ranma grinned sheepishly, then lifted his eyebrows in thought. "Hey, I may not finish speaking, but I can finish something else right now!" He moved his hand off her face, and instead took her other hand in his, and started pulling her toward him, toward the edge of the bridge._

 _She laughed, his energy infectious. "Where are we going! What are you doing!"_

" _I'm going to finish teaching you to swim!" Ranma tugged on her sleeve, pulling her along, right to edge._

" _B-But," Akane shuffled, embarrassed. "I'll just flounder and sink, like always."_

" _No you won't," Ranma released her hands, and moved behind her, placing his hands on her back. "Because I heard love makes you float." He leaned his head against her shoulder, whispering in her ear. "Do you love me?"_

" _Yes," she said it so quickly it was like a reflex._

" _Then trust me."_

 _Akane nodded, and stepped off the bridge, but suddenly found herself being pulled away. Faintly in the distance she heard a voice yelling, but before she could understand what it was saying, there was Ranma behind her again._

" _It's okay, try again."_

 _She tried again and again, but kept feeling herself being pulled back. The voice was yelling, and confusing her. She was struggling to move forward. Her heart starting to ache and feel heavy. "Ranma! I can't! Help me!"_

 _Ranma appeared in front of her, his feet balanced on the edge of the bridge. "Akane," he laughed, shaking his head in amusement and motioning her forward in encouragement. "Hurry up and die."_

Akane grabbed herself quickly, a sudden shiver spreading up her spine. She remembered now, all of it. She remembered him speaking, and tugging on her sleeve, and trying to pull her toward the river... She remembered it, and yet it felt like she was an outsider watching...

Lost in thought, she didn't notice as Ryoga spoke up, saying, "Oh, sorry, are you cold?" He stood up, and moved to the window, shutting it tight. "It felt warm in here to me," he said with an awkward laugh. "But this is fine too..."

Ryoga sat back down in the chair next to bed, watching her. She seemed ignorant to his presence, lost in thought. _She's probably remembering us on the bridge..._ He felt a small blush creep up his neck. _How I held her... How we were standing...!_

Ryoga cleared his throat, and Akane turned her head sharply to him. "A-a-ah, A-Akane," he stuttered, absent-mindedly poking his two index fingers together, "about earlier..."

"Ryoga!" Akane said cheerfully, "when did you get into town?"

"Eh?" was all Ryoga could say, his hopes crushed. "Eh?"

Akane smiled, tilting her head inquisitively. "Are you spending Christmas here?"

"Uh, uh," he mumbled, "No, I... Well, actually," he changed his mind right then and there, "yeah. I'm going to be around the next few days." _I'll be here for you, Akane._

"That's nice," Akane replied easily, smiling at him. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while. I hope you'll have time to hang out while you're here."

"Y-Yeah!" He scratched the back of his head, his disappointment about her forgetting about the bridge already fading as she talked about them spending time together. "Absolutely!" He grinned ear to ear.

Akane laughed quietly at his reaction. _Ryoga's so silly!_

Looking at her smile, Ryoga couldn't help but feel at peace. Akane was beautiful. Akane was kind. Akane deserved better than Ranma. Suddenly his mood darkened, remembering the conversation they had just had. Ranma wasn't thinking straight. He wasn't willing to put Akane first. _How despicable._ Ryoga's hands tightened into fists. _Well if he won't do what's necessary, then I will._

"Akane!" Ryoga said suddenly, making her jump.

"Y-Yes?"

"T-tomorrow," Ryoga stumbled over his words, "w-what are you doing..."

Akane blinked. "I need to go Christmas shopping."

"W-Would you," he swallowed hard. _Get through it!_ "W-Would you like to g-go with me?"

"Oh!" Her mind immediately went to Akari. _I bet he wants some help getting her a present, and he's too shy to ask. That's so sweet!_ Akane smiled, "Yes, Ryoga. Of course we can go together ."

 _God's above, thank you. This is bliss._ Ryoga found himself fighting tears for the second time that day as his heart burst into fireworks in his chest. _A date! A date with Akane!_ He bit on his fist to keep from screaming in joy. _A chance for me, and a chance for us... I won't waste it!_

Akane, meanwhile, was glancing around the room, oblivious to Ryoga's joy. "Say, Ryoga," she finally thought to ask. "Why am I at the doctor's office?"

"Ah," Ryoga said, growing serious abruptly. "You..." He was unsure of what to say. "What do you remember?"

"Hm," she said slowly and thoughtfully. "Ranma... and I were walking home, and then Mousse came so they ran off fighting. We had just gotten out of class, and Ms. Hinako had sapped our energy, so I remember I was moving slower than normal..." _What do I say about that vision on the bridge?_ She bit her lip. That _was_ the last thing she remembered before waking up, after all. _No way,_ she thought suddenly. _I don't even know what the hell that was, so it'd be a waste to even mention it._ "...And that's where it gets kinda fuzzy. I don't remember doing anything to send me here?"

Ryoga cracked his knuckles. He wasn't going to cover for Ranma. "Well, I found you on the bridge—"

"We think you collapsed from over exhaustion," Dr. Tofu said with a calm, gentle ease from the doorway.

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane said in surprise, then bowed her head in greeting. "Sorry for all the trouble."

"No trouble at all," he waved off her politeness and walked over to the two. He sent Ryoga a glance that Ryoga easily interpreted as 'don't say anything.' It made Ryoga frown and cross his arms, but he remained silent.

"Ms. Hinako's drain on you was probably the last thing your body needed. Rest, however, has done you some good I think." Dr. Tofu reached for a pair of scissors on a nearby desk top. "Let me see your wraps while you're here, anyway. I think the bandages might be able to come off now."

The chatted pleasantly while Tofu's unwrapped her hands and feet and looked them over for any swelling or signs of frostbite on her fingers and toes. Ryoga watched on, silently. "It looks much better," Tofu finished saying. "I don't think you'll need to bandage them again – it's a good idea to get some air over them now, but I would recommend ointment before you go to bed."

"Mm," Akane said in positive acknowledgment. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"My pleasure," Dr. Tofu said with a smile. "Ah, but it is getting late. You're of course welcome to stay as long as you need – "

"Oh no, I'm feeling much better," Akane said, already swinging her legs out of bed and reaching for her shoes.

Dr. Tofu nodded, "Then I'll go grab a little extra ointment, and then the three of you can be off. Ryoga, would you help me?"

Ryoga stood up, his expression grumpy. Akane paused. "Wait, the three of us?"

A small cough alerted her to a third presence. Akane turned and looked to see Ranma standing in the doorway, his arms cross over his chest. "Yo," he muttered, his face dark. He was looking toward her, but refused to make eye contact.

Akane blinked at him, her heart rate speeding up. "R-Ranma..." _Why do I feel so scared?_

"We'll be right back." Dr. Tofu guided Ryoga forward with a hand on his back, and the two of them slid out through the doorway, forcing Ranma to step all the way into the room so they could move past. Ryoga cast a last glare at Ranma as he closed the door behind them.

Now they were alone, Akane sliding on her shoes and trying to calm herself down, as Ranma stood awkwardly near the door, unsure of where to look.

"S-So – "

"Well – "

The both stopped. Ranma sighed, and looked out the window. "I'm sorry."

Akane looked up at him quickly, her breath coming fast. "For what?" _Does that mean – on the bridge – there was no way that was really him, was it?_

"For leaving you behind," Ranma mumbled. "I shouldn't have run away with Mousse like that..."

"Oh," she responded, her mind clearing. _Of course that wasn't him. He was with Mousse. I can't blame Ranma for these crazy visions..._ She heaved a sigh, putting on a brave face. "Oh, that's alright. I thought that I was feeling much better than I was, so it's my fault, too – "

"Don't," Ranma said quickly. Akane stared at him as his face darkened even more. "Don't make excuses for me. I should have been there. I should have been there today, and I should have been there two days ago when you were walking home alone, too. I feel like..." He trailed off, but Akane remained silent, waiting for him to finish. Ranma kicked at the floor. "I feel like, ever since you almost got hit by that truck, that I've just been letting you down. Like I haven't been there when you needed help. And I... I'm sorry."

"Ranma..." _Why does he look so sad?_

"I'm sorry," he said again quickly. "I'm just... sorry." _Sorry that I've been so selfish. And that I continue to be... I just... I can't let you go, not yet, not without trying everything I can..._

Akane stood up. "Ranma, what are you talking about?" He just looked so _sad_ and _guilty_... She hated seeing him that way. "Hey, look at me." Akane walked up and stood in front of him, forcing him to look at her. He looked defeated, weary, and downtrodden.

"Akane, I'm sor-"

"Ranma, shut up."

The stood there staring at each other. Ranma was wide-eyed, and Akane was glaring at him.

"You look like the world is going to end. It's not. Calm down." She huffed. "You were there for me when I almost fell off the roof, and you were there for me when that beam fell in the dojo." Akane thrust her hands in front of his startled face. "Dr. Tofu says my hands are fine now. And I just took a, uh, _nap_ because of Ms. Hinako. Albeit not in a great place, but I'm fine now. And we don't have to worry about our test grades. And it's almost Christmas!" She stamped her foot, hoping Ranma was understanding she was trying to say. "So... so you need to stop blaming yourself!"

Ranma looked at her, confused, but shocked more at her outburst than anything. She looked angry. _But is she.. actually trying to comfort me?_

Her expression softened. "Now don't look so sad. It weirds me out. You don't give up like that."

Ranma let out a small sigh of a laugh. "Akane... Thanks. That's what I needed to hear."

Akane smiled. "I can slap you too, if that'll help." She raised up her arm quickly in jest but Ranma caught it to stop her, just in case she was serious.

"Nope, I'm good." He looked down into her face, and felt more relaxed than he had since before his fight with Mousse. _I'll find a way to fix it all, for this smile._

He realized he was still holding onto her arm, but he didn't immediately let go. Instead, he lowered her arm, and as he did so he let his hand slide down over her elbow, over her wrist, and into her hand. He paused there, momentarily, enjoying the look on her face as she looked down at their hands. He slid his thumb over the back of her hand in a small caress before he, too, started to feel embarrassed. As he went to pull his hand away, however, Akane squeezed it softly and he froze.

 _Eep,_ he thought, his mind going blank as Akane looked up into his face, her cheeks just starting to turn pink.

"But thanks, Ranma. For getting so serious on my account." She stepped a little closer, still holding his hand, feeling nervous around him now for a whole new reason. "It's nice to know you care."

"I-I-I..." Ranma stuttered, his mind running away from him. "A-Ak-kan..e..." His body started to move on its own, taking over for its panicking owner. _Why am I... leaning forward..._

"Ointment!" Ryoga yelled, as the door burst open.

Akane and Ranma jumped away from each other like an electric shock had coursed through them, their hands pulling apart.

"I-it's ready," Ryoga gasped, breathing heavily. Dr. Tofu appeared behind him, smiling genially.

"We just went to the next room to go get it, but Ryoga got lost getting back here. While it's difficult to understand how someone could get lost when there's only one hallway, it's amusing to witness."

"A-Akane," Ryoga gasped, staring at Ranma. "L-Let's go..."

"Yea," she mumbled. She shot a last glance at Ranma, who was scratching his nose to cover the blush across his face, and smiled to herself.

"Ranma, let's go home."

* * *

"Ryoga? What are you looking at?"

Ryoga looked back forward, and grinned at Akane. "Oh, no, it's nothing, ahaha..."

Akane gave him a puzzled smile, but didn't ask further. Instead the two walked side-by-side down the street, passing window display after window display. The displays were each arranged differently, but had many of the same themes: smiling Santas, reindeers with red noses, mistletoe and Christmas trees, and _presents_. Presents everywhere. Small boxes, larges boxes, bags, bows, all brightly colored and tied up in shades of red and green.

Christmas was in full swing in the downtown Shopping Plaza, and for the last few hours Ryoga and Akane had been strolling through the center of it, finding gifts for everyone they cared about. Akane seemed to enjoy the decorations the most. For Ryoga, however, he just enjoyed watching Akane. When a new window display caught her eye, she'd sprint over to it and point out everything she saw that she liked. Sometimes they went into a store just so she could watch a train display as the train puttered along the walls of the entire store. Other times when they would pass by a large snow drift she'd pick some up in her hands just to mold it and play with it before dropping it and move on.

 _Damnit,_ Ryoga thought, putting a hand to his face as she ran up ahead to look at another display. _She is being just too damn cute right now._

His plan had formed slowly in his mind overnight. He would take Akane out for the day during one of the most romantic times of the year, and slowly win her over with his charm. Simultaneously he would also mention and remind Akane of every despicable thing Ranma had done to her over the years, planting a seed of hate for him in her mind. As the date went on, he'd slowly convince Akane to give up on Ranma. After all, if she fell for Ryoga instead, the curse would have to disappear and Akane would be unscathed and rid of Ranma for the rest of her life.

His only regret was the what this meant for the pig-loving green-haired girl who also had stolen his heart. _Akari..._ Ryoga heaved a sigh, following slowly behind Akane. _I'm sorry... You must understand, I don't have the time to sort out my feelings... Akane's life is in danger, and I can't just sit by and watch her life get destroyed by Ranma. I thought that he was strong enough to protect her, but now,_ he curled his hands into fists, glancing over his shoulder, _now I see better. And I can't leave her side until I know she's safe._ Ryoga looked up at the sky, willing his words to reach Akari, wherever she was. _I will try to return to you, if I can... But for now, I need to focus on Akane._

Suddenly the girl in question was in front of him, looking at him with concern. "Ryoga? Are you feeling okay? You seem sad..."

"Oh," Ryoga said, quickly transforming his face into a smile. "No I'm fine! Hahaha! I'm happy being here," he mumbled, "with you..."

Akane tilted her head in pleasant confusion. "Yeah. It's nice to get a chance to see you."

Ryoga's heart swelled – _an opening!_ \- and he leaned forward. "Ak-"

"Hey!" She said suddenly, pointing behind him. "There's a great café over there, why don't we rest for a bit and get some hot chocolate?"

"Uh," Ryoga said, looking toward the café. Movement off to the side caught his eye. He frowned for a second, then looked back and grinned at her. "Yes, let's do that."

As they walked up to the front door, Akane let out a small groan. "The line is so long..." She peered inside. "And it's pretty crowded... Hey, is it ok if we sit outside?" Her hand was already on the door handle, her mind made up, a smile gracing her lips. "You grab us a table before it fills up, and I'll get us drinks."

God her smile was dazzling. "Yes," _anything you say,_ "sounds good!"

"Great!" With a small wave she disappeared inside, leaving a grinning Ryoga waving after her.

"Ahhh, Akane," he sighed in bliss. _I shouldn't be thinking about Akari when Akane is right in front of me..._ This was a rare opportunity to be alone, and he wasn't going to waste it.

But as he wandered over to a table by a bunch of decorative bushes and a Christmas tre, he couldn't help but musing aloud, "Though we're not totally alone." He sat down, and stared the bush down with half-lidded eyes. "Are we, Ranma?"

The bush shuttered in shock, then the pigtailed head of Ranma popped up over its leaves. "Pah!"

Ryoga shook his head in disappointment as Ranma climbed out of the bush, dusting leaves out of his hair and clothes. "What, no costume today Ranma? Not going to pose as an old girlfriend to interrupt mine and Akane's" – he narrowed his eyes, drawing out the last word, "daaate."

"This isn't a date," Ranma scoffed, sitting down across from him. "It's an errand run that you invited yourself on." He crossed his arms, glowering at Ryoga.

"Oh, is that so?" Ryoga replied sarcastically. "How many errand runs involve an intimate setting of two people drinking together alone in a café?"

" _Outside_ a café," Ranma replied bluntly.

"Shut up," Ryoga snapped. "Why have you been following us?"

Throughout the last few hours, Ryoga had looked over his shoulder to spot Ranma lurking behind lampposts, trash cans, inside large groups of people, and even crouching on the awnings of storefronts. This however (he realized with slight glee), was the first time him and Akane had been separated long enough for him to confront Ranma about it.

"More importantly," Ranma growled, "what's your plan, Ryoga?"

It had been a shock to Ranma this morning when Akane had said she was going shopping today with Ryoga. She had mentioned it nonchalantly at breakfast this morning, when Nabiki had commented she looked dressed up.

When Ranma nearly choked on his rice, and asked when they had planned that, Akane had rolled her eyes and said he'd asked her yesterday at the doctor's office if they could go.

"And you said _yes_?!" Ranma had demanded, and Akane had shot him a glare.

"I haven't seen Ryoga in a few weeks! Besides, it's not like it's any of _your_ business," she had replied curtly before leaving shortly after.

A fuming Ranma, remembering his conversation with Ryoga yesterday, knew this wasn't going to be an innocent date, so he had tailed them the entire day. What bothered him most, besides seeing her smile more today than she had the entire week before, was that nothing dangerous had happened to her. Not that he wanted her in danger… But when he was around her, accidents seemed to pop up left and right. But being with Ryoga seemed... safe. Which pissed him off to no end. There were no fiancées interrupting their time together, no curses threatening their lives, no enemies cropping up demanding battles. Instead it was just Ryoga and Akane, enjoying their time together.

 _Damn_ , he thought resentfully, _I never get that kind of time with her..._

He didn't want to think of the implications of that, and instead chose to focus on what Ryoga was scheming against him.

"My _plan_ , Ranma?" Ryoga scoffed, looking off to the side. "You insult me."

Ranma rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, well. Listen, Ryoga, about what you said yesterday..." Ryoga tensed up, remembering their conversation. "It... It might be selfish of me, but I'm not willing to give up that easily. No curse has ever defeated me before, and I'm not about to let this one."

"Really, Ranma?" Ryoga sneered. "That's what this is about? You would risk Akane's life for _pride_? Because you don't want to feel like you lost to some curse?"

"That's not it!" Ranma yelled, getting angry. "I'm just not ready to give up without even trying first! There has to be another way for this curse to end, and I'm going to find it!"

Ryoga shook his head. "You're unbelievable. Until then you're willing to keep her life at risk for the next few **days**? Even if you do find a cure," Ryoga leaned in, whispering harshly, "she could _die_ before then."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Ranma replied fiercely. "I'm not going to let this curse touch her. And that includes changing her feelings." He stuck his nose up and looked away, trying to appear nonchalant. "It's none of my business who she cares about, but I'm not going to let this curse dictate her life."

Now it was Ryoga's turn to roll his eyes. "You're a shameful man, Ranma. If a girl loved me at the risk of her life, I'd tell her to forget me and move on."

"Yeah right," Ranma muttered, "let's see how you react when it happens to you."

Ryoga shook his head, and looked toward the door of the café to see if Akane was coming back soon. He wasn't about to let Ranma ruin the romantic mood he was working so hard to establish.

Ranma picked at a loose thread on his pant leg. "... Are you going to tell her?" Ranma mumbled, glancing sideways at him.

"I thought about it." Ryoga shot a glare at Ranma. "But then I realized: she's suffered enough by your hands already, why make her deal with something else? Instead I'm just going to make her realize for herself what a waste of space you are, and that there are better men out there for her, like me—" Ryoga hesitated as Ranma looked at him in surprise. " _Shit._ "

"So that's your plan?" Ranma laughed, standing up. "Man, you never change! Well now I know I don't have to worry. Your attempts to woo her in the past have always failed before. Besides, what about Akari?"

Ryoga was bristling with anger. "Akari... Akari will understand! It's for Akane's life!"

"You keep lying to yourself that your intentions are pure, let's see how far it gets you," Ranma said with a bitter laugh.

Ryoga jumped to his feet, reaching for his bandana. "Ranma!"

Ranma held his arms up in front of him defensively. "You wanna fight?!"

The two boys held their positions, staring each other down.

Suddenly a tinkling of a bell reached their ears, and a quizzical voice called out. "Ryoga? Where are you?"

"Shit," was all Ranma had time to swear before he found himself being launched to the side. He landed back in the bush, whose cold leaves swallowed him up and hid him from view.

"Ahahaha," came Ryoga's nervous laugh, followed by footsteps. "Akane, hi!"

"Ah, there you are. Here you go – do you want to go sit down?"

Ranma struggled to get more comfortable without shaking the bush too much. He was also trying his best to overhear their conversation – their voices were quieter since Ryoga had moved away.

"Ahh, actually," Ryoga glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at Akane. "Why don't we keep moving? Sitting was making me too cold."

Akane giggled, "That's why we got the drinks! But that's fine, there's actually a store nearby I think you'll really like."

Ranma strained to hear as their voices faded with distance.

"It has a lot of rare... around the world... find something for..."

"Oh, really... we'll… great..."

"Damnit," Ranma muttered quietly to himself. He may have mocked Ryoga's idea when he heard it, but it made him nervous. What if what Ryoga said and did, on top of the negative consequences of the curse, really made Akane change her opinion of Ranma? Ranma ground his teeth. _I won't let you hate me!_

As Ranma dug his way out of the bush and dashed behind an inflatable Santa Clause, keeping an eye of Akane and Ryoga, another figure nearby was keeping a close eye on the pig tailed boy.

The occupant of the table on the other side of the bushes stirred, looking down the street to make sure Ranma really was gone. They had been hidden behind a small Christmas tree, enjoying a snack at the restaurant next door to the café, when Ryoga and Ranma had started talking. _They didn't see me at all..._

The person picked up their empty plate, smiling to themselves. "Now _that_ was an interesting conversation to overhear..."

* * *

 **Author's Note 6/7/2016:** Sooo we all know it's been a long time, sorry this update came so late. I want to make it clear that I will NOT give up on this story though. I've already written the last chapter, so don't worry, you'll definitely get a conclusion to this story! One reason I've been slowing down is I've been writing what I want, when I want, which means when I think about other stories I want to write, I've been working on those over this one. But I promised myself not to post those until I've finished this one. (But they are Ranma/Akane themed, so maybe look for those in the future?). I was also planning on making this chapter longer, but told myself, "Just get something out! The next one will just have to be super long!" So look for that, too. Hope you enjoyed! Like always, I'd love to hear what you think. Cheers!

 **Edit:** Also I feel like Ryoga is a big contradiction in this chapter, struggling to balance Akane and Akari, so I hope I touched on that enough to make it clear he's very conflicted and struggling with who he wants to be with - and ultimately, in this chapter, decides Akane's life is too important for him not to try to do something. The fact that 'that something' is to try and make her fall in love with him is a character flaw in him, as there are probably other things he could do... But he's a little selfish, too. ;)


	7. Letting Go of Love

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
October 2016

 **Chapter 7: Letting Go of Love**

"Man, what is taking them so long?"

Ranma exhaled warm breath over her hands, trying to heat up her fingers. She squatted, shivering in her female form, slabs of sticky raspberry flavoring clinging to her pigtail and face. A young boy had been throwing a tantrum that his snow cone was melting too quickly and eventually threw it away – right into the cluster of bushes in which Ranma was lurking. And the kid had been right: the majority of the ice chips _had_ melted, evidenced by the raspberry flavored ice cold water that rained down on the then male – now female – Ranma.

Now doused in cold water, every small breeze sent a new wave of cold through her bones. But Ranma wasn't about to leave her post to go find some hot water. She wasn't about to risk Akane and Ryoga getting away from her, especially after hearing about Ryoga's plan.

 _Though at this rate, I could have gotten hot water ten times over!_ Ranma thought bitterly, holding her arms close to her body and shivering. _Really, they've been in there forever..._

Ryoga and Akane had gone straight from the coffee shop to an exotic looking store tucked away in the basement of a nearby building. Ranma had watched them from his position in the bushes as they descended a flight of stairs that took them to the front of the store. However, after the shaved ice incident, Ranma had emerged from the bushes to hide next to a lamppost near the stairwell. She had created a small, temporary igloo-like sanctuary by kicking the snow away from the base of the lamppost and using her hands to mold a small snow wall around her. Now Ranma crouched on the freezing earth, allowing her two-foot-tall walls to break the wind as she peered out over the top.

At this point in time Ranma had been out here trembling in the cold of her ice fort for what felt like hours, but was likely closer to thirty minutes. _What are they doing in there?!_ When Ranma had been sculpting her tiny ice fort, she had caught a few glimpses of the store. It was made of dark brown and grey brick, and its windows were tinted black. Through them he could just make out Persian rugs being used as curtains to line the windows, and stacks of aging books and even what looked like a human skull sitting in the top corner. The store gave off incredibly creepy vibes and Ranma was actually debating whether or not to storm in there and make sure they hadn't been used as human sacrifices.

 _Would serve them right, making me wait out in the cold like this._ Ranma huffed, a cloud forming from her breath. She could almost hear Ryoga trying to keep them in there as long as possible in hopes that Ranma would leave. _But I'm not going anywhere!_ Ranma shuffled, trying to get comfortable, letting only her blue eyes and red hair stick out from the snow. Several small children had noticed her crouching there, and had burst into tears. With the raspberry juice clinging to her face like blood, Ranma wasn't surprised. _I'll stay here as long as I hafta!_

Ranma let his mind wander to a conversation he had with Akane a few days back, when she had been standing out in the snow in the yard. He had told her then about how training in the Winter was his least favorite because of the cold and snow. He sighed in self-pity. _If she could see me now... Waiting, wet and cold in the snow, just to make sure that idiot Ryoga doesn't do anything to make her hate me..._ He almost wished he could brag to her about how selfless he was being.

But maybe it was for the best she couldn't see Ranma now. As two young children crept up to check on the raspberry-covered bloody-looking redhead, a cranky Ranma waited still and silent until they were close. Then she sprang up toward them, growling and spitting like a wild animal, their screams of terror soothing her grumpy and restless mind. With a satisfied chuckle, Ranma sunk back down into a ball in her ice fort, watching triumphantly as they ran away in tears.

Behind her, a deep voice rang out in mixture of horror and confusion. "The pig-tailed girl?"

 _Fuck_.

Her attempts to duck down further and hide were futile. Before Ranma had a chance to think of a plan, a hand was pulling her up to her feet and into the open arms of Tatewaki Kuno.

"Oh, fate is kind!" Kuno had Ranma pinned against him, her arms flat against her sides. "My pig-tailed princess!" Ranma struggled, her teeth chattering. _If only I wasn't so cold I could fight him off better!_ "You found me, you scamp!" Kuno attempted to nuzzle his face into the side of her neck.

"What are you talking about?! You're the one who found me!" Ranma finally got an arm free and elbowed the 17-year-old in the face. The resulting pain caused him to loosen his grip, allowing her to jump back and out of Kuno's clutches.

"Ahh," Kuno released a content sigh, a red mark from Ranma's elbow already forming across his nose. The tall kendo club captain was out of his normal clothes, and was instead tucked away inside a thick coat that hung below his knees. A large red and green stripped scarf was wrapped around his neck, and a Santa hat sat perched on his brown hair.

Ranma quickly gained a sneaking suspicion that Kuno was a fan of Christmas: his scarf, the hat... and the pile of presents in Sasuke's arms behind him gave it away.

The ninja servant of the Kuno household peered around the stack of presents in his arms and regarded Ranma with narrow eyes, choosing to remain silent in hopes to maintain some dignity. Kuno had forced him to wear a headband with reindeer antlers, which displeased him greatly. His legs were starting to shake under the weight of the gifts – none of which were for him – and the reindeer antlers just added insult to injury.

"Ah hahaha," Kuno laughed, unprovoked by anything funny. Ranma quickly looked back at him, putting her arms up defensively to ward off another hug. "I know you're eagerly awaiting Christmas Eve with me, but waiting out in the cold for me isn't necessary!"

"Like hell I'd be waiting out here for you," Ranma spat. The sight of Kuno filled with Christmas mirth while Ranma was already so grumpy just aggravated him further.

"Ah, that your flame of passion can be maintained even in blistering cold weather such as this, warms me unlike any fire could." Kuno, entranced by his own romantic delusions, sighed dreamily, and placed a gloved hand on the small of Ranma's back. "Come, let's find someplace to get warm together, just the two of us..."

"Yeech," Ranma rolled her eyes, swatting his hand away in a definitive manner. "Man you say some disgusting things, do you even hear yourself?" Ranma crossed her arms, glancing toward the building Akane and Ryoga had disappeared into. "Listen Kuno, I'm not in the mood today, just get lost would'ja?"

Kuno shook his head, a large stupid grin on his face. "I know how shy you can be, you sweet delicate damsel! But have no fear, I know what will cheer you up." Kuno rummaged around in his pockets before pulling out a small bundle of leaves tied in a red bow. In one smooth motion he slid his body up against Ranma, grabbing the redhead by her waist, and held the plant clipping up above their heads. "A kiss under mistletoe to seal our love during the most joyous time of the year!"

The punch to the face sent Kuno backwards into a heap of snow piled up next to the road. Sasuke jumped, scattering presents, and scrambled over the Kuno. "Master!" he exclaimed. Ranma kept her fist raised before her in case the delusional teenager got up again.

"S-Some other time t-then," Kuno mumbled, his head swimming with images of the pig-tailed girl and mistletoe. The plant in question drifted down like snow, landing gingerly on Kuno's bruised face.

Ranma snorted, shaking her head, "Never."

Abruptly, a faint bell chime rang out, pulling Ranma's attention back to the matter at hand.

Ranma quickly jumped back into the ice fort, and built the wall up a little higher, peering out over the snow.

Ryoga was standing at the top of the stairs that led down to the store, looking down at the bag in his arms. He seemed despondent, his head low, a frown on his lips. Ranma, upon realizing Akane wasn't there next to him, started to worry and stand up – until the short-haired girl in question came running up the stairs, a package in her arms. She smiled, and laughed as she got to the top of the stairs to stand next to Ryoga.

Ranma was pissed that Akane was laughing away happily with Ryoga, while meanwhile Ranma crouched cold and angry in the snow.

"Thanks for waiting... But wasn't that great?" Akane was saying with a laugh. "I bet Akari will love what you got her!"

"Oh, uh," Ryoga stuttered with a laugh of his own, "I bet she will, ha... ha..." _Though I laugh, on the inside I die._

Ryoga was very, very, very unhappy. From the moment they walked into the store together one thing became clear: Akane was fully and completely convinced that Ryoga was not in love with her. In fact, she was certain that he was instead in love with Akari, and that that was the reason they had come out shopping. Not, like he had thought, as a date.

It had all become clear when they first entered the store and Akane had immediately been drawn to a small figurine of a pig. "Ooh, Ryoga look!" Akane said, lifting the ceramic pig up to his eyes. "It looks like my P-chan!"

His chest swelled with happiness as he responded, "Oh, yes!" _She called me_ her _P-chan._ Regardless of how much he hated his pig form, hearing her using any sort of possessive term for him (even if she didn't know they were the same) pleased him greatly.

"Listen, Akane," he said quickly, trying to take advantage of being out of Ranma's earshot for the first time all day. Finally, they couldn't be interrupted. "I want to tell you—"

"Akari would love this, don't you think?" Akane said suddenly.

Ryoga froze. "Eh?"

Akane lifted the pig up, wiggling it. "Oink, oink. Akari loves pigs right? I bet we could find a lot of pig-related stuff in here, this shop is supposed to have some exotic things and some collector's items too." She was already glancing around the store, her mind distracted.

With a gulp, Ryoga shook his head. _Don't get dissuaded! Be confident!_ "H-Hey, Akane, I mean, I want to say—"

Akane laughed, making him stutter to a stop. "Ryoga, please. You don't have to say anything!" She gave him a winning smile, and touched his arm. "You don't need to thank me. I'm happy to help you shop for Akari. This is what friends are for." She put the pig figurine back on the self, and looked back at him with a wink. "Now let's find something perfect to wow her!"

And off she went, babbling happily about present ideas for a different girl. All Ryoga could hear, however, was an echoing voice saying, _"This is what friends are for... Friends... Friends are for... Friends..."_

The rest of the time in the store had passed aggravatingly slowly, as Akane found different pig and love related items for Ryoga to give to Akari. The store, as it turned out, sold many different "magical" items – most of them either curses, luck charms, revenge items, or love incantations. Akane had persuaded Ryoga (somehow) to purchase several trinkets that came with their own love superstitions associated with them.

What had taken the longest, however, was when the store keeper had asked if them needed any help. He had been an old man, with more wrinkles than teeth, and when Akane had quickly blurted out they were getting things for "his girlfriend," he spent the next fifteen minutes with them going over a multitude of different love-related items for sale. Many of them, Ryoga recalled with a blush, had been highly inappropriate to sell to teenagers their age.

But among them, had been something that Ryoga couldn't help but notice had caught Akane's attention. Looking at her now, with a small parcel in her arms, Ryoga couldn't help but wonder if that was what she returned for.

"Say, Akane," he started, "what did you go back for?"

"Oh!" Akane looked down embarrassed, and quickly blushed. "Um... Nothing. Just something silly... for, um, my dad!" Akane was a terrible liar, maybe even worse than Ryoga, so he just frowned and didn't press any further. But if she had gone back for what he was thinking of, then...

"Master Kuno! Stop!"

Akane and Ryoga quickly looked over as a voice exclaimed. They quickly recognized Sasuke, the Kuno family resident ninja, holding Tatewaki Kuno up under the armpits. He was struggling under the weight of the teenager as he threw his body around. Kuno was swinging around wildly, a piece of ratty-looking mistletoe in his fingers, holding it up to random women passing in the street, mumbling excitedly, "Pig-tailed girl? Pig-tailed girl?!"

"What the hell..." Akane muttered, her eyes narrowing. _Pig-tailed girl?_ _Ranma? Is he here somewhere?_

Ryoga had the same thought as Akane, and quickly scoured the streets for any sight of Ranma. When he finally spotted Ranma, Ryoga recoiled slightly – there was something resembling blood dried on his face, and his female blue eyes were glaring in his direction. Ryoga growled quietly, disappointed that he hadn't left, and abruptly made a decision.

 _I can't be weak anymore. I can't hide behind Akari, and I can't let Ranma's selfishness ruin Akane's life!_ He swallowed hard. Time to take his own advice: man up, and do what was best for Akane. Consequences be damned.

Ryoga grabbed Akane by the elbow, turning her away before she could spot Ranma. He stepped up to her while also pulling her close. Akane leaned back and looked up at him, surprised. "R-Ryoga?"

"Akane," Ryoga said breathlessly, "come with me."

"C-Come with you?" Akane repeated, confused and startled.

Ryoga smiled, trying to ignore how dry his mouth felt. _Be cool. Be aloof._ "I want to talk to you. S-So... let's go someplace we can be alone." He leaned in, his heart pounding, but trying to maintain his composure. His lips brushed against her hair as he whispered into her ear, "Run with me."

He grabbed her hand, shocking himself with his own boldness, and started running, pulling Akane after him. The girl, even more shocked, let him drag her down the sidewalk at a fast pace.

Ranma watched as Ryoga pulled Akane to him, then leaned in and whispered in her ear, before taking off down the street. But it was the tiny, almost unnoticeable blush that lit up her cheeks that made Ranma bristle like a cat with its hair on end. "Ryoga, you asshole!" she hissed.

Ranma took off after them in an instant, scattering snow and leaving a confused Kuno and a shouting Sasuke behind her. She scrambled up out of the snow, and ran quickly after them. Luckily, as she turned a corner, she saw an old woman handing out tea samples outside a tea shop. With lightning speed, Ranma scooped up one of the cups, shouting, "Thank you!"

The splash of hot water on Ranma's face was all it took for him to grow back into his male body.

He shook the water out of his eyes, and rubbed his face, washing off the raspberry sauce. _Ryoga,_ he thought bitterly, _I'm going to kill you._

* * *

Huffing and puffing, Ryoga finally let go of Akane's hand. He breathed heavily, then stood up, trying to play it off. "Hey, good run, huh?" he said in an attempt to be smooth.

Akane was gasping for air. Her hair was windblown and her cheeks were red from the cold and over-exertion. "R-Ryoga," she wheezed, "y-you... run very... fast..." She had somehow managed to keep hold of the bag in her arms despite their haphazard run through downtown. Ryoga, with his natural sense of misdirection, had taken a winding path through the streets, dragging her through several crowded areas in an attempt to find someplace to be alone. Finally, however, they somehow ended up taking a flight of stairs carved into a hillside up to a small, overgrown shrine, half-hidden under snow.

As Akane fought to catch her breath, she looked around. The old stone shrine was worn and stained from years of rain and dotted with patches of dried white moss. Melting ice crystals twinkled at them from the branches of trees, and faded paper lanterns twisted and tinkled in a faint breeze. A small river trickled right past the shrine, icy cold and wider than normal from melting snow. Besides the gentle babbling, it was quiet and serene under all the snow. There was no one else around them. It felt like they were in their own personal forest.

"Wow," Akane sighed. "It's beautiful here." She walked carefully over to the shrine and set her bag down on the ground next to it. She ran her gloved her fingers over the stone, shivering despite being warmed from the run. "How old do you think this shrine is? It looks like it's been here for years, but the lanterns don't look like they've been here for too long..."

Ryoga watched her. He could hardly hear her over the sound of blood rushing through his ears. She looked beautiful: her hair was tussled, her lips were bright red with the cold, and her brown eyes were wide in wonder at the scene around them.

This was it.

He was alone with Akane.

And they were standing in a beautiful location, by an old shrine and a stream, at Christmas time, after spending all day together.

Ryoga took a deep, slow breath.

It was time to tell her how he felt about her.

Ryoga cleared his throat, his head light and fuzzy. He was so _nervous_ , and Akane could tell instantly.

"Ryoga?" She asked cautiously, looking at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Akane." His voice was surprisingly steady.

"Y-Yes, Royga?" Akane asked. His tone made her stand up straighter, like a kid about to get lectured.

"I... I need y-you to listen." Ryoga put his head down, and shuffled his feet. Akane nodded silently when he glanced up at her, not wanting to interrupt. "I... I-It's true that I care a lot about A-Akari."

Relief swept through her. The way Ryoga was acting, she was afraid he was about to confess a terminal illness or something else of that severity. She smiled, "I know—"

"No, you don't. You don't know." Ryoga said quickly as he looked up at her, his gaze intense. "Akari's great an' all… But she's not the one I love the most." As he tried to hold the surprised, brown-eyed gaze of Akane, he felt a blush sweep across his face. He felt hot all over, and gulped. "That's... someone else. There's... someone else who I love... the m-most of all." He inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to steady himself. "I always have."

"Oh?" Akane stared at him, confused. "Who are you—"

"It's you!" Ryoga's voice was unnervingly loud and high-pitched, and he cleared his throat. "I-It's you," he repeated, more calmly. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he felt faint. _I said it._ He looked down at his feet, his hands balling into fists. He squeezed his eyes shut. "It's you," he said again, almost whispering.

Akane's mind went blank.

"U-uh," Akane stuttered, blinking quickly. Now she was the one blushing, and something had swept through her veins to make her feel light headed all over. Panic? _Say something!_ "O-Oh."

Ryoga opened his eyes again, but wasn't brave enough to look up at her. Instead he kept his gaze down at his feet. "...Yeah. So."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh," Akane said for the third time.

The only sound for several seconds was the trickling of the stream, the water splashing quietly over rocks and leaves.

Finally, Ryoga looked up, fear in his eyes. He stared at her long and hard. "...Do you hate me?"

With no other idea on what to say, Akane said quickly, "No, Ryoga, of course I don't hate you—"

Ryoga's face lit up, visibly relaxing. He looked like a child, joy filling him. "Really?!" He exhaled in relief. "Akane..." He took several steps forward, closing the distance between them. He took her hands in his, his breath coming quick with nervousness and excitement. "I'm... I'm relieved," he laughed quietly, smiling at her awkwardly.

 _Oh, oh no you..._ Akane opened her mouth, but no words would come out. She was slowly realizing, with horror, that he was interpreting her reaction as one of returned feelings. _I... I have to make it clear that I don't..._

"Ryoga," she started to say, the words forming: _'I'm so sorry, I don't mean to mislead you, but I can't return your feelings'_ but abruptly she was startled into silence as Ryoga put a hand on the side of her face.

"I'm... happy," he said quietly. "Akane..." He beamed at her, his eyes searching his face. Then, suddenly, his features turned stony. "You need to forget Ranma."

"R-Ranma?" Akane stuttered, her eyebrows going up. Her cheeks grew hot and her heart did a small flip. _How would Ryoga know how I feel—_ And why would Ryoga say something like that? "W-What do you mean?"

Ryoga shook his head, and his smile gone. He looked at her seriously, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "Akane, trust me. Ranma's not good for you. N-Not like me," he added shyly.

Akane was bewildered and couldn't stop blinking in an attempt to give herself some time to think. An idea struck Ryoga, and he bit his lip. _Be a man!_ Boldly, he pulled her even closer to him. "Akane..." He gulped, hoping this next line would come out smoothly.

"Let me make you forget about him." Then, swiftly, Ryoga was leaning in to kiss her.

Akane didn't even have time to react. She stood, still as a statue, just watching as he got closer and closer... She shut her eyes, her lips parted, and her hand came up.

WHAM! SLAP! THUD! _"Nooooo!"_

Akane was released rapidly as her hand connected with skin in a slap. Ryoga let out a groan, but he sounded far away. The smell of raspberry and peppermint was overpowering.

Akane slowly cracked open an eye. Then both of her eyes flew open. _R-R..._

"Ranma?"

A very annoyed Ranma was looking at Akane through half-lidded eyes. Her hand was still laid flat against his cheek where she had slapped him. Ryoga, meanwhile, was nursing a bump on the side of his head after a swift kick had sent him sprawling onto his back in the snow. Ranma's leg was still in the air, poised straight up at his side.

"Hmph," Ranma grunted and lowered his foot. Akane pulled her hand back in shock, and Ranma crossed his arms, looking down his nose at her.

"Sorry to break up this lovely moment." He wasn't sorry. He didn't even try to sound sorry. He had intervened at the last possible moment, and would have been there sooner if it hadn't been for the crowds of people. _I bet Ryoga led her through those crowds on purpose..._ It took several minutes for Ranma to catch up, but even so, he was confident he had heard the bulk of their conversation.

 _So he did it... He finally said it..._ Ranma looked over at Ryoga, who, upon figuring out what had just happened, quickly jumped to his feet, his cheek red and bruised.

"You kicked me!" Ryoga yelled, pointing at Ranma.

Ranma sneered at him. "You tried to kiss Akane."

"And how is that any of _your_ business?" Ryoga growled, already raising his fists to punch him.

"I-It's... You wanna fight?!" Ranma shouted, lifting his own fists.

"Just _stop!_ "

At the sound of her voice the martial artists froze, and turned their attentions to an angry Akane.

Her eyes surveyed both of them in silent disapproval, before resting on Ryoga. Akane's cheeks were red, and her heart was beating fast. "Ryoga," she started quietly. Ryoga stood up straighter, nervous, and even Ranma looked surprised at her tone. _Don't tell me she's actually going to..._

"Ryoga," she repeated, trying to steady herself. She glanced at Ranma, then back at Ryoga. She hated to do this in front of Ranma, of all people. Taking a breath, she bowed deeply.

"Uh!" Ryoga gasped, looking awkward. "Y-You don't need to..."

"Your words made me really happy." Akane stood up straight as Ranma's mouth flew open.

"A-Akane…!" He started to yell, but she silenced him with a look. Ranma grit his teeth. _No!_ This couldn't be happening. Was it that easy to win her over? _How fickle can a girl be?!_

"I'm honored that you think so highly of me..." Ryoga glowed, ready to shower her in all the compliments that showed just how highly he thought of her. "But," she said regretfully, "I'm so sorry. I... I just can't return your feelings." Again Akane bowed, uncomfortable to the point where she wished the snow would swallow her up. _I don't know what to say in this situation. How do you apologize for something like this?_ "I'm sorry." She mumbled quietly at the ground.

Ranma relaxed abruptly, his anger dying like fire dashed with water. _Thank god._ Then he saw Ryoga. _Eeech._

Ryoga was the embodiment of a crumbling statue. His face was frozen in a confused smile, his eyes far off and distant, and his body was trembling. He felt sick. Anyone who looked at him would surely hear the sound of his glass heart shattering. _I... I've been rejected._

After a few moments of silence, Akane hesitantly straightened up again. "Ryoga... I'm so-"

"Akane..." he finally whispered. _Don't look at me with eyes filled with pity._ He felt sorrowful tears welling up in his eyes, and he shook his head, looking at the ground. "N-No, that's, okay... I..." He swallowed hard, taking a step back. "T-Thanks for hearing me out."

Trying to be brave, Ryoga gave her a sad smile and raised a hand in a parting wave. "I'm glad I could tell you. This is the last you'll see of me. Farewell, Akane," he said grimly, before turned on his heel and starting to run away.

"Ryoga-" Akane's yell was cut off as Ranma stepped in front of her, facing her. Quickly, he took her head in his hands, forcing her head up to look at him and away from Ryoga's disappearing back. "Akane."

Akane's breath caught at the contact. "R-Ranma..."

"Do me a favor, look over here for a sec, kay?" He turned her head to the side toward the tree line.

There was a loud splash as Ryoga, in his haste to get away, tripped and fell into the stream.

Sputtering, a small black piglet broke the surface of the water where Ryoga had fallen in. The stream, though shallow, was moving quickly enough to sweep a small pig away in seconds. Ryoga's squeals were drowned out by the babbling until he was out of sight, his bag from the store bobbing along after him. Ranma watched him go. _Probably not the exit he wanted to make, but I oughta help him maintain some dignity._

He sighed, and released Akane's face. "Okay, that's fine now, thanks."

When Akane looked back at him, she was furious. "Ranma!" she yelled accusingly, making him jump back in surprise.

"W-What?!" he yelled back, wildly confused.

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded. "How could you kick Ryoga!"

"W-Wha... You ungrateful little...!" Ranma stepped up to her, wagging a finger in her face. "Oh I get it, you _wanted_ him to kiss you!"

"No!" Akane grabbed his finger and pulled it down and away. "I had it under control!"

"Oh, oh yeah, sure looked like it," Ranma retorted, crossing his arms. "Alright, well, next time I'll leave you to fend for yourself around that pervert!"

Akane scoffed. "How did you even know we were here?" Her eyes grew wide and her anger intensified. "Did you _follow_ us?!"

"Oh sure," Ranma said sarcastically, "because I have nothing better to do than watch you and Ryoga go on a date."

"It wasn't a date!" Akane cried defensively, waving her arms in frustration. "Ugh!" She let out an angry, frustrated sigh. Ranma looked away from her, frowning. _This isn't going how I wanted._

Akane glared at him. After a few seconds though, her expression changed. "Ranma," she asked finally, "were you jealous?"

"HAH," Ranma laughed obnoxiously loud as he glanced at her. "Who could be jealous of a sexless macho chick like you?"

"Hm," Akane said slowly, looking at the stream, trying to hide a sneaky smile. "Maybe I should have said yes to Ryoga, then."

Ranma froze. "What?"

Putting her hands to her face, Akane took a slow breath, refusing to look at him for fear of breaking into a smile. Instead, she did her best to act serious. "That was the first time anyone's confessed to me so _seriously_ before. I mean, maybe I decided too quickly..."

"Y-You can't be serious," Ranma mumbled, walking up to her. He tried to stand in front of her, but she kept turning away. He frowned, ducking and bobbing his head in an attempt to look into her face. "Oy, look at me!" He grabbed her wrist, making her turn toward him. "Tell me you're not seriously thinking about _Ryoga?_ I mean, it's _Ryoga!_ "

Akane turned to look at him, and stuck her tongue out at him. "I knew you were jealous."

With a glare, he released her wrist. "Think whatever you want."

Akane grinned, then sniffed the air. "Why do you smell like raspberry? And… mint tea?"

Ranma tucked his hands behind his head. "It's a long story."

She laughed, and it made Ranma falter. He watched her as she giggled, "Knowing you, it probably is."

Ranma frowned to himself. _How did this happen? How did Ryoga just do what I can't?_ He watched as Akane straightened her scarf, which had come loose ages ago from all the running. _He can tell her how he feels, and I just make her mad. And then this fucking curse complicates things even further..._ He didn't know what to do. He was relieved to see Akane turn Ryoga down... but that didn't mean she was all his now, either. _I've got to break this thing, and soon..._

"Ranma?" Akane asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Do you think he meant it?" Akane was looking sadly toward the direction Ryoga had taken off. "Do you think we'll never see him again?"

Ranma glanced down the stream subtly, shrugging. "I don't know. Ryoga's kind of a fragile guy. But, then again, with his sense of direction, the more he tries to stay away, the more he'll probably end up here.'

Akane shared a small, sad smile over that. "That's true… But what about Akari? They're so cute together, I hope this doesn't come between them."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Ranma said simply. "That girl loves pigs so much, I bet she'd forgive him for murder." He thought about it for a moment. "Slaughter?"

Akane looked at him, puzzled. "I've always wondered about that," she said slowly. "She says how much she loves pigs, and that's why she loves Ryoga. But what does Ryoga have to do with pigs?"

A moment passed in awkward silence. Suddenly, Ranma let out a loud laugh and clapped Akane once on the back. "Oh I think you've learned enough about Ryoga for today. We'll save that for another time." He changed the subject quickly, as it looked like Akane was going to press on, "You have more shopping to do? Let's go do that."

"Yeah," Akane said, getting thoughtful. "But I think I'm done for today. I'll come back out tomorrow, it's already close to sunset and I'm getting cold."

Ranma looked down the path as they started walking. He thought about the day he had just had, watching Akane and Ryoga laughing, as they drank hot chocolate together, going into stores and making jokes... Before he knew he was asking, he had already said it aloud. "Can I come?"

That surprised her. "Where? Shopping?"

"Yeah, tomorrow. I, uh, have some things I need to get, too. That's all." He wouldn't make eye contact.

Akane smiled a small, knowing smile. "Yeah, that sounds... good."

He looked forward, feigning a straight face. "Good."

* * *

The next morning promised a day of similar weather as the day before: frigid with cold breezes, but sunshine that would help melt snow throughout the day. It was Sunday morning, Christmas Eve, and already in the early morning there was activity.

The floorboards creaked as someone entered the dining room. Nabiki, alone and watching television, idly looked over her shoulder to greet the pigtailed martial artist as he rounded the corner into the room.

"Morning. Oh – wow, you look like crap."

"Gee," Ranma yawned, glaring at Nabiki. "Thanks for the honesty."

"I live for the truth, Ranma," Nabiki said in all seriousness, before turning her attention back to the television.

Ranma took his usual spot at the table, and started to fill a bowl for himself. He felt like crap, so it wasn't a surprise that he looked like it – his sleep had been plagued by nightmares. Most of them involved Ryoga and Akane getting married while Ranma grieved. A few involved raspberries, and a few had Kuno tying him down and trying to kiss him under mistletoe. Needless to say, he had woken up several times in a cold sweat. It was one of the reasons he was up so early.

 _Still_ , he thought with a yawn, _I'd rather have these kind of nightmares than ones with Akane dying._

Nabiki heard the yawn, but her eyes didn't leave the screen in front of her as she asked, "Didn't sleep well? Why, do you have a guilty conscious?"

Ranma looked at her sharply. "What?"

"That's what they say keeps people up at night," Nabiki said nonchalantly. "A guilty conscience." She turned her head, giving him a piercing gaze. "What do you have to be guilty about, Ranma?"

Ranma stared at her, half glaring. "What are you talking about, Nabiki?" Did she know something? "Are you trying to accuse me of something?"

Nabiki held his glare with a calm, compliant expression of her own. "Calm down, I'm just looking for guilt-trip money. Sheesh, take it easy."

But still, she held his gaze, staring at him as if she was waiting for him to admit something. Ranma just looked back at her, confused and angry about why she was playing mind games with him so early in the morning.

The tension was broken as the side door opened and Akane stepped in from the snow. She quickly closed the door behind her to keep the heat inside the house.

Ranma's eyes widened when Akane turned around after shutting the door behind her. "What happened?!"

"Whoa," Nabiki said in surprise, "and I thought Ranma looked bad."

From her expression, Akane seemed more embarrassed than in pain. A small, purple bruise was developing on her face, just below her eye. Her lower lip had busted open, but was no longer bleeding. There was another small cut on her forehead. As she scratched the side of her face in an awkward display, Ranma noticed the side of her hand was scraped up.

"Oh," Akane attempted to sound dismissive, "just a stupid mistake." She sat resolutely at the table, reaching for food. "I hit a cinderblock at a funny angle. It was just a freak accident," she said curtly.

Ranma's heart dropped. There was no way to prove it, but he was certain this had happened because of the curse.

His theory was confirmed as Nabiki pointed out, "You must have been pretty distracted," and Akane's cheeks quickly flushed.

"Mm..." she murmured, avoiding Ranma's gaze.

"Are you sure you should go ice skating today?" Nabiki asked absent-mindedly, flipping through channels on the TV. "Sounds like you're already having another exceptionally clumsy day."

"Hey!" Akane barked grumpily. "Another?!"

"Icth skathing?" Ranma asked, his mouth full. He swallowed. "You're going ice skating?"

"Yeah," Akane picked at her food, still not looking at him. "Yuka and Sayuri invited me last night. I guess there's an outdoor pond that froze over downtown, and people are bringing their own skates. Do, um," she played with her chopsticks, "do you still want to go shopping? I-I figured we could check out the skating too, but you don't have to if you don't want to," she shot him a quick look before getting embarrassed and turning her attention back to her food.

 _Wonder what she was thinking about that was so bad she can't even look at me,_ Ranma mused curiously. "Well," he said aloud, "I'm okay with going. Prolly won't skate though."

"Right, because you can't," Nabiki mocked.

"Oy," Ranma grumbled through a mouthful of food, glaring at Nabiki. "Yer awfully rude today."

Nabiki just snorted and shook her head in answer, keeping her eyes on the television.

Ranma frowned at her while Akane kept her focus on her breakfast.

When she had received the invitation last night, Akane had excitedly pulled her skates out of the closet and thought nothing more of it. But it was today as she was doing her morning exercises that she recalled the last time her and Ranma had gone ice skating together, just weeks after their engagement had been announced. It was one of the rare moments where he had not only acknowledged their engagement, but expressed that he intended to protect it. The memory alone had been enough to distract her. Mid-strike she had fumbled, scraping her hand uncomfortably and leaning in too close to the impact to avoid getting struck by flying concrete.

Thinking about it though... _Nabiki's right,_ Akane reflected sourly, _this really hasn't been my week._ It felt like bad luck was following her around like a celestial "kick me" sign on her back. She stirred her food around her bowl, a small smile creeping onto her face despite the bad thoughts. _Well, at least today should be fun._

They slowly finished breakfast, the other members of the household joining them one by one. They talked about plans for another Christmas party, and when was the best time to go to the shrine on New Years. Kasumi and Nodoka talked about a menu for Christmas day, and Genma and Soun talked about their class schedule regarding the holidays. Nabiki seemed more focused on the TV than anything else. Ranma and Akane contributed to their conversations, but were both noticeably more quiet than normal. They both had a tendency to glance at the clock, then at each other, before getting embarrassed and looking away.

Finally, as the morning began to feel like it was dragging on, Akane put her bowl down and stood up. "Alright, well, Ranma and I have some Christmas shopping to do, so we'll be going." She looked purposefully at Ranma, who scrambled to his feet.

"Yup." Was all he said, as he pointedly avoided looking at his mother.

"Oooh," Nodoka crooned, clasping her hands. "How lovely! A date on Christmas Eve!"

"It's not a date!" Two voices chimed in together, followed by exchanged glares at the other's immediate refusal.

"Take good care of her, m'boy," Soun nodded in approval.

Akane let out a long groan, leaving the room in a hurry. Ranma followed more slowly.

 _Take good care of her? I'm practically endangering her more by just being around her._ He tucked his hands in his pockets ruefully. _Guess we'll just have to see what happens... Hopefully nothing too bad._ At least he would be there to save her from the trouble he, himself, was putting her into. _As long as she doesn't get too worked up about today, or believe what mom said about this being a date, she should be fine, right?_

Akane, meanwhile, was in the front hall, sliding her arms into the sleeves of her heavy winter jacket. _A date? No, we're just shopping. But, it is Christmas Eve. And he did practically invite me. Or maybe himself? Well it was kind of like..._ As Akane got dressed she slowly, but surely, started realizing that today felt like a big deal.

* * *

A large crash sounded near them, and Akane looked around over her shoulder. "Did you hear something?"

"Nope." Ranma struggled to hide the fact that he was breathing heavily from effort. "You're hearing things."

"Maybe so," Akane mumbled, turning forward again. "But I coulda sworn..."

As she looked away, Ranma nearly doubled over, panting heavily for a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he stood back upright, and followed lithely behind her, his eyes scanning for potential dangers.

Today had been a mess, in Ranma's opinion. They had only been out together for two hours, but it seemed that almost anytime they stood too close on the sidewalk, or Ranma said something nice, or Akane looked at him funny, danger followed close behind. Already Ranma had knocked away several falling objects from windows on the buildings up above, deflected flying rocks and stones from passing car tires, caught passersby who started to fall into Akane as she was standing next to fragile displays with sharp edges, stopped kids who were waving around fake swords and staffs, and prevented several steaming cups of hot beverages from falling on her. And, not wanting to ruin her day or make her suspicious of the continued coincidences, Ranma had stayed silent about all of it.

At least he had done that well. Akane was positively beaming from joy. She and Ranma had taken a different street than she had with Ryoga yesterday, so today's festivities and displays were all new. As far as Akane was concerned, today was going great – she had already taken care of the last of her shopping to do, she had been able to share a few laughs with Ranma, and now they were headed towards the pond to go ice skating. The only thing she could complain about was that Ranma seemed a little distracted today, but even that couldn't prevent her good mood.

In fact, she thought with a big grin, the day had started out wonderful and only gotten better. When they first started out, Ranma had been extremely suspicious, and told her to wait outside by herself for several minutes. When he returned, she couldn't help but notice a small package stuffed into his coat pocket, and she had glowed at the idea that it might be a present for her. She had kept that happiness, and the light-headed feeling that came with it, with her all day, and the feeling had yet to subside.

Akane was humming quietly to herself, eyeing a display of hot chocolate to her right, when she felt somebody move in tightly against her. She looked up in shock, her mouth opening, as an arm slid around her waist. Her cheeks pinked as a pair of blue eyes looked down at her, his voice quiet as he said, "Be careful."

Ranma pulled her back gently, and Akane realized with a start that she had been walking into the street without even realizing it. Cars zoomed pass, one honking at them as it swerved to miss them. Ranma got her back on the sidewalk, as people around them waiting to cross stared. Ranma had pulled her close in order to stop her, but now that they were safe he didn't relax his hold.

"Er, s-sorry." Akane glanced around at the people staring, her fingers going to his arm. "I'll be careful, so you can let go."

"No." Akane stared up at him in surprise, but Ranma wasn't looking at her. He was glancing around them like she had been, but he wasn't looking at the people around them; instead, he seemed to be looking for something. "Not until the light turns. It's safer if you stay next to me."

Akane colored even more, and stared at him wide-eyed until he noticed her expression. She was red-faced, and her eyes were as wide as two chocolate moons. With a start, he released her, his arms sticking up straight in the air. _On second thought,_ he thought, his heart pounding, _maybe it's safer for us both if I let go._

"I-I just mean because you're so clumsy!" Ranma half-shouted, and Akane's mood quickly darkened as she noticed people chuckling and pointing at them.

"Oh," she spat, grabbing her jacket and pulling it more tightly around her. "Of course." She pursed her lips, suddenly grumpy. "Excuse me for getting into the Christmas spirit and forgetting to check one street! At least you could _pretend_ you're having fun!"

"Pretend?!" Ranma yelled back. "Who's pretending?"

"Honestly!" Akane shouted in exasperation. "Don't think I haven't noticed! You keep looking everywhere like you're looking for an escape! You don't have to stay if you don't want to!"

"Of course I want to, it's just because of you that I—"

"Oh, so _I'm_ the problem?! Maybe if you came with someone else you'd be having more fun?!"

"That is not what I said—"

"Wish one of your cute fiancées had invited you instead of me?!"

"Well, it wouldn't be nearly as much trouble with one of them—"

"Oh is that so! Well, then, _sorry for wasting your time by being so troublesome_ —"

"Akane! Ranma!" Their shouting match was suddenly cut off at the appearance of Sayuri and Yuka. The two girls were smiling uncertainly. "We thought we heard your voices. From…several streets over. Um, ready for ice skating?"

With a last glare at Ranma, Akane huffed and stuck her nose up in the air as she looked away from him. Ranma clenched his fists and grit his teeth together. "Why, you..."

"The pond," Sayuri said quickly to cut him off, "it's right over here!"

Yuka grabbed Akane's hand, pulling her away before any additionally screaming happened. "I'm so excited, they say it hasn't frozen over like this in years, that normally it's not strong enough to skate on, but you gotta come look..."

Yuka and Sayuri quickly diffused the situation as they brought Ranma and Akane to the outdoor skating area. Festive flags and lights had been set up, as well as several food and drink stands at the edges of the pond. Tired skaters were lounging on fold-up chairs and tables, drinking and laughing, as Christmas music played over a pair of temporary speakers at either end of the rink.

At the coaxing of her friends, Akane slowly calmed down and started to smile again, but every time she glanced over at Ranma her expression would sour. This continued even as they put on their skates, chatted about Christmas plans, and took off their heavy jackets to avoid being weighed down as they skated.

"Ranma," Yuka said, "since you're not skating, will you watch our stuff?"

"Hm?" Once again, Ranma seemed distracted, but nodded in agreement as Yuka asked again. Akane scowled at him from several paces away, her arms crossed. _Just what is he looking for so desperately?_ Today had been going so well, then in one instant it seemed to crumble. It always seemed like that happened when they were together.

"Ready, Akane?" Sayuri asked over her shoulder as Yuka and her started toward the ice.

"Mm," Akane stood up, plodding through the snow on her skates. "Yeah, coming—"

A sudden hand on her arm held her back. She frowned heavily before looking over her shoulder at Ranma. She gave him a skeptical stare through half-lidded eyes. "What?" She couldn't hide the annoyance in her voice.

Ranma looked serious, bothered, and worried all at once. "Just... be careful, okay?" It sounded almost reluctant, like he knew she wouldn't want to hear it, but he had to say it anyway.

Ranma forced himself to keep eye contact, even knowing it would probably make her madder. As Akane stood there, her angry expression softened, and was replaced with something Ranma couldn't quite make out. She reached over and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Yeah, um, I will."

He let go without another word, and she looked uncertainly at him before hurrying after her friends. Ranma frowned, looking down at his hand. "Hm." He clenched it into a fist.

As Ranma sat down on the bench by all their jackets, Akane took her first few uncertain steps onto the ice. She was very confident in her skating abilities, but it had been a year, and this was a natural rink that had more flaws in the ice than in a man-made one. It took several slow minutes of circling around the sizable pond with her friends giggling and slipping before she got the hang of it. She learned to avoid sticks and leaves that had frozen in the water, and even though a corner of the icy pond had been roped off for being too thin, she knew how to look for smaller patches that looked like they threatened to give way. It wasn't long before she was moving confidently beside Yuka and Sayuri, her face lit up in joy once again, enjoying the feel of bitter wind slapping her face as she sped up, her muscles working hard enough to keep her warm even just under one sweater.

It was maybe 10 or 15 minutes after she started skating that Akane thought to look over at Ranma. He was staring back at her, a look on his face that made her feel even more warm. He had a small smile on his face, and he looked truly relaxed for the first time that day. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but when he noticed her looking back at him, he gave a little start as he broke out of his thoughts. Then he grinned at her and lifted a hand in a small wave. Akane swallowed hard and returned it, focusing back on the rink as she noticed her heart pounding.

 _What was that... He looked so happy... Why?_ She tried to steal glances at him every once in a while, as she continued doing laps, and every time she did she was strangely pleased that he was always watching her. Even as he slowly started to frown over time, she didn't seem to mind it or really notice – just knowing his attention was on her was making her feel fuzzy headed. Every time she made eye contact with those blue eyes, her heart pumped faster, and her knees felt shaky, but she couldn't stop glancing back seconds later.

At one point, in an attempt to skate backwards to get an even better look at him, she felt her skate clip something in the ice, but she quickly recovered. Within seconds however, she felt an arm wind around her. She didn't have to look to know who it was.

Ranma had saddled up next to her effortlessly, and matched his pace with hers. She smiled, looking down at his feet. "I didn't know you brought skates?" Together they turned as one to skate forward again.

Ranma stood up suddenly, frowning. He had been watching Akane this entire time, but in the last few minutes her behavior had changed, and something seemed off.

* * *

" _I didn't know you brought skates?" Together they turned as one to skate forward again._

" _I did, so we could be together," Ranma's voice had an effortless charm to it that made her sigh. "I like to surprise you."_

 _Ranma matched her movements, seemingly reading her mind. Suddenly a memory awoke, and Akane looked up at him. "I thought you couldn't skate? You're doing very well."_

 _Ranma grinned, his arm still wrapped around her waist. "Like I said, I like to surprise you. Does it make you happy?"_

 _With a smile and a nod, Akane moved closer to him. "You always make me happy."_

 _Ranma grinned, and opened his mouth. "Do you—"_

"Akane!"

 _Confused, Akane's eyebrows stitched together. "Did you just call me?"_

" _No." His effortless grin was still there, but Akane saw something in his eyes that told her he wasn't telling her all the truth. Her frown deepened, and Ranma grabbed her, pulling her in a new direction. "Hey, listen, you love me right?"_

 _That question flooded her chest with a mixture of happiness and horror, combining to make her feel light-headed and drunk. "I- of course, I-"_

"Akane! No!"

" _Something's wrong," Akane slurred, everything slowing down around her. The background blurred in on itself, doubles of everything appearing as she swung her head around in an effort to find the source of the voice calling her. She tried to slow down, but Ranma kept pulling her forward easily on her skates. "Ranma, stop, there's something—"_

" _Tell me you love me," Ranma cooed. His voice was intoxicating and making everything worse. She shut her eyes, starting to feel sick._

" _Of course I love you?" It was a question, not an answer. Ranma grabbed her arm, and swung her in a wide arc, forcing her eyes open in shock. Faintly, she recognized the feel of something pressing against the back of her knees. She reached for it in an attempt to steady herself against it, and numbly recognized the feel of rough rope on her fingers._

" _Do you love me, or not?!" Ranma was demanding an answer, his blue eyes livid. Akane could only stare at him, speechless. Abruptly he was sliding away from her, his voice straining, "If you love me—"_

"Akane! Don't move! Damn this ice..."

 _Ranma slid backwards as if pulled by a rope, then seemed to come into sharper focus._

Now he was running toward her, reaching for her, slipping as he struggled to hurry over to her – he was so far away – no, he was –

 _What is going on?!_

– _in the blink of an eye Ranma swept with unearthly speed to be standing right in front of her. He was inches away, his face looming over hers, and his mouth opened, hot breath blowing over her face as his voice, deep and quiet, ordered, "Die for me!"_

 _Then his hands were on her shoulders, shoving her, pushing her backwards over the rope. She reached out as she fell, grasping for his hands, but Ranma just stepped back, laughing at her._

Cold water enveloped her in an icy hug, and the last thing she saw was Ranma, standing over her, laughing.

* * *

Akane knew what it was like to be cold. It had only been a few days since that she had fallen asleep in snow drifts. And she knew what it was like to drown. She had never been good at swimming, she probably never would be, so floundering in water wasn't new or particularly scary anymore.

But the crushing sense of being encircled by dark water, mere degrees from freezing, and having the air freeze in her lungs as she moved with a sluggishness that suggested her muscles were physically recoiling from the cold was something so horrible that she had never come close to experiencing before. Even Jusendo had not been this painful and terrifying.

Her ribs felt like they were caving in under the pressure of the water around her. She was desperate for air, desperate for warmth. Her fingers and toes were already numb and gone. Her hands and feet were next. They were going to abandon her body and fall like rocks to the seafloor. Her entire body was in pain, needles of cold stabbing her unrelentingly. She was sinking so quickly. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel. She couldn't think. All she knew was that she was going to die. She was going to die. She was going to die.

And Ranma had killed her.

* * *

Ranma felt the icy chill spread from fingertip to heel as he broke through the hole in the ice, following behind Akane. He entered the water in a flurry of icy splashes, and quickly found Akane. She was already far below the surface, sinking with surprising speed, as if something was dragging her down. Even though he was swimming purposefully, Ranma struggled to catch up – _was the pond even this deep?!_ Somehow, by sheer will, it was only moments later that his fingers found hers, and he grabbed her with such force he managed to bring her sinking body to a dead stop. _Hold on, Akane!_

He turned them toward the surface, and felt a strong current pushing down against them. With a roar of bubbles, he started kicking and pulling with his free hand. It wasn't a shock to realize he was in his female body – the water was beyond cold enough – but he was frustrated with it, as the smaller hands and feet made swimming less efficient.

It felt like ages, but was actually closer to seconds, until Ranma pulled them both back up to the surface. The surface broke with surprising ease – he had expected it to part as almost a gel, judging from how thick the water felt after swimming through it. Akane's head broke the surface with Ranma's, and instantly she sucked in air.

Yuka and Sayuri were on their knees, crowded as close to the thin ice as they dared. As Akane started coughing, they reached for her, each girl yelling for her. Akane opened terrified brown eyes, and scrambled for them. Ranma pushed her up and out of the water, as her two friends pulled her back, then instantly up onto her feet.

"Akane! Are you okay?!"

"What were you thinking?"

"That doesn't matter – we need to get her warm!"

"Akane, can you stand?"

Other people had crowded around to see if they could help. Some of them stared in confusion at Ranma, who had entered the water as a boy, and was exiting as a freezing girl. Ranma shook like a dog, the freezing cold already seeping into her bones. She shivered, and followed slowly behind Akane and her friends, who had already whisked her off toward their coats.

Ranma had been the one to discover her body in the snow. He had seen her jog into the night and nearly get hit by a truck. And he had watched as she dangled herself off the edge of the school roof. But seeing her move the way she had, to see her struggle with her own body as he called after her, starting and stopping as she skated alone toward the roped off area of thin ice, seemingly pulled along by something no one could see... It left him feeling helpless.

This curse was truly terrible. Akane had no control over her actions. It was one thing to see continual accidents happen to her, and the knife incident had been scary enough without being deadly, but it was another to realize she was being forced to such lengths as to place herself in life threatening situations. Anyone could have watched as she skated, turned in front of the rope, and threw herself backwards into a small opening in the ice seemingly of her own volition. There was no mistaking it as an accident. Some people had screamed, he heard one person ask, "What the hell is she doing?!" But most people turned with only enough time to see her disappear backwards, body limp like a doll.

But no one had been as close as Ranma. No one had seen the look of terror on her face as she was thrown back. And it had been him she had been looking at, her eyes glazed over, but recognizing him.

 _This... has gone far enough._ Ranma's hands curled up into fists. A cold breeze swept over her cold clothes, and Ranma's mind was made up. Akane's life was worth so much more than his feelings for her.

Ranma slipped and slid off the ice, touching down into snow next to one of the drink stands. She glanced around quickly, to make sure no one was paying her any mind, and quickly doused her red hair in an unattended cup of steaming water and tea leaves. Ranma shook the water out of his eyes, as his hair quickly grew into a dark black.

Akane was sitting on a bench, wrapped up in three different coats. Sayuri had stuffed a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, and both friends had forsaken their scarves to instead wrap them around the shivering girl.

"Yuka went to grab a cab," was the first thing Sayuri said, as she saw Ranma coming close. "That was so brave of you," she added, admiration in her voice.

 _God, don't praise me._ Ranma felt sick. _If you knew, if any of knew that this was my fault..._ Well, then, they would probably hate him as much as he hated himself right now.

Ranma stepped around over the bench, and knelt down, looking into the face of the brown haired girl sitting on the bench. "Ak—"

Wide, scared eyes rose to meet his. Akane screamed, scrambling to slide away down the bench from him. Ranma froze where he knelt.

"Akane!" Sayuri yelled, hurrying to her side. "What is it?! What's wrong?"

Akane's mind was a mess. She didn't know what was real anymore. Her brain was working slow – _from the cold, I think? Everything is just so cold... Everything hurts..._ – and she couldn't remember what exactly had happened, but she knew what she saw. And that was Ranma, pushing her into the water. Ranma, laughing as she reached for help. Ranma, trying to kill her.

"It's his fault!" She screamed with a hysteria she didn't recognize in her own voice. "Get him away! Get away!" She threw her hot chocolate at him, which Ranma only half-heartedly pushed away as it came near him, half the contents spilling on his leg. He was too focused on watching her, on seeing the fear fill her at the sight of him. "Oh, god, p-please... Please don't hurt me."

It was as she started to sob that Ranma couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, his breath coming up in short gasps. This was too painful. This hurt too much. He couldn't be here.

 _It is my fault. It's all my fault. My fault for letting it get this bad._

Sayuri was talking quietly to Akane, and Ranma overheard her saying, "Ranma saved you... pulled you from the water... if it wasn't for him—"

"Stop," Ranma said, with surprising strength in his voice. Sayuri looked to him quickly, horrified. "Ranma, she doesn't know what she's saying, she's just confused—"

"It's better this way," Ranma said shortly. He turned his back on them as he saw Yuka arrive, waving from the front window of a cab. "Get her home safe. Make sure she's never alone."

"Where are you going?" Sayuri asked. Akane let out a particularly mournful sob, and it was all Ranma could do to stop himself from crying.

"Don't let her be alone," he repeated, ignoring her question. Then he left.

* * *

"Is this for real?"

"I promise you, my information is good."

"All of it, though? Including the part about—"

"What did I just tell you? I have no reason to lie about this."

There was a skeptical pause. "Why would you even reveal this to me? I mean, she's your own sister."

"Well dear," the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile, "I live for the truth."

"And money," the other girl responded dryly, crossing her arms.

"That too. But mainly," a sigh passed between her lips, "I don't think a boy is worth dying over. It's my hope someone will be able to convince them it's not worth her life."

"And you chose me?"

"Oh, sweetie, it's not just you. It's anyone and everyone I can find to pay the fee." A small stack of money was waved in front of her face. "It increases the chance of separating them."

"And increasing the width of your wallet."

She responded with a short, harsh laugh. "Well, I hope you found it worth it."

"Oh, I definitely did."

Ukyo regarded Nabiki Tendo carefully, her mind spinning with everything she had just heard.

"So," Nabiki asked at last, "think you're up for it?"

"Oh don't worry," Ukyo stood up, grabbing her things as she prepared to leave. "I'll have them glad to be apart from each other before you have a chance to spend even a cent of that money."

* * *

 **Author's Note 10/18/16 -** Heeey guys, remember me?! Sorry it's been so long! Like I said, this story will be finished! Unfortunately I can't guarantee swiftness. Um, hope you enjoyed! I always re-read all your reviews when I need motivation to write, so a big THANK YOU to everyone that had stuck by this long, and continues to read! It means a lot. I'll get started on chapter 8, and hopefully get that up for you guys soon. My goal is to get this story finished by Christmas, so we'll all cross our fingers to see if that happens. Cheers!

 **Edit 10:42pm -** Fixed some grammar errors/replaced some words. Also sorry if the ending felt rushed - I almost ended it where she fell in, but then I figured a cliffhanger wasn't nice if it took me ages to get the next chapter up. Oops! ;)


	8. A Fiery Christmas

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
April 2017

 **Chapter 8: A Fiery Christmas**

Fingers drummed rhythmically on a desk, tapping out an impatient beat.

" _It's his fault! Get him away!"_

The city clock tower boomed aloud the beginning of a new hour. The hollow chimes echoed across the quiet and dark Nerima night. After ten strikes in a row, the night air fell silent once again.

" _Get away!"_

Voices rose and fell from the floor below, greeting guests who had arrived early from far away for tomorrow's famous Tendo family Christmas party. None of the voices belonged to the one person she needed to hear.

" _Oh, god, p-please..."_

The news reporters on television said it was the coldest Christmas Eve in 100 years.

" _Please don't hurt me."_

A mixture of confusion and guilt gnawed at her heart, and made it difficult for her to relax. For the last few hours she had taken to pacing around her room before settling in a new corner of the room in pursuit of a new form of distraction. None had worked so far, and every attempt gave way to more pacing around her room.

" _It's his fault... Get away... Please don't hurt me…!"_

Her fingers tapped away on her desk, with enough force that she wondered if she was about to find out she could pierce wood with her fingertips. Her own words were echoing in her head, driving her incessant restlessness.

" _Get him away!"_

How could she say those things to him?

Akane looked up from the wooden surface below her fingers, and out the window, wistfully searching the night for any signs of the boy who had disappeared that afternoon and had still not returned. She had been home for hours, dinner had come and gone, and still Ranma had not contacted any of them nor shown his face at the house. Akane had been so desperate she was tempted to call Ukyo to find out if Ranma was taking refuge with her, but then doubted whether Ukyo would answer honestly if Ranma asked to remain hidden.

 _And why wouldn't he?_ Akane thought dejectedly. _After the things I said..._

It wasn't until she had been safely buckled into the back of the cab, flanked on either side by her dutiful and worried friends, that her mind cleared and the horror of her words sunk in. The physical pain of the cold paled in comparison to the guilt that ravaged her in that moment.

"Ranma!" She had screamed abruptly over her friends' quiet chatter, startling the cab driver into swerving on the road. "We need to get back – we need to find him – I shouldn't have said – " Her fingers scrambled at one of the door handles, her feet trying to propel her out of her seat. Her actions prompting a shout from the driver about not leaving moving vehicles.

"Shhh," Yuki cooed calmingly, taking Akane's hand off the door and instead holding it in hers. "We need to take care of you first. Ranma will understand. You were just in shock."

"Will he though?" Saiyuri said worriedly. "I mean, the look on his face – "

" _Shh!"_ Yuki whispered harshly, even though Akane sat between them, "She's still recovering! Don't stress her out even more!"

The taxi delivered them safely to the front gate of the Tendo household. Both of her friends saw her inside and directly into a hot bathtub. Honoring Ranma's words to not let Akane be alone, her friends stayed with her despite her protests. While Akane was frustrated that she wasn't able to have some time alone to figure out what had happened on her own, she appreciated that her friends quickly picked up that she didn't want to discuss with them what had just happened. She knew it was probably unfair to leave them in the dark, considering all the help they had given her, but she didn't know how to explain it to herself, let alone to other people.

It wasn't until the heat had thoroughly soaked through her skin and dinner was ready that the two girls left, promising to see her tomorrow at the Tendo Christmas party. Akane dressed quietly, wondering what she would say when she had to face Ranma at dinner, but the opportunity had not presented itself – Ranma wasn't at dinner, and no one had heard from him.

"Boys will be boys," Genma had said, trying to be reassuring when he saw Akane's panic at the absence of Ranma's presence by the time they were done eating. "He's probably off doing god knows what."

"He's strong enough to take care of himself, dear," Nodoka said, soothingly petting Akane's arm.

Akane tried to smile, but it was difficult to believe them. She had not told them what happened at the pond. They hadn't heard the things she had screamed at Ranma while he crouched in front of her, his face twisted up into such a grief-stricken expression of pain it made her want to cry.

" _Please don't hurt me."_

Akane scooted her chair away from her desk slowly, her eyes falling away from the window to stare at the floor. "Ranma," she whispered quietly, "where are you?"

" _Aa-choo!"_

Akane's head snapped up. A sneeze from outside? _It couldn't be._ She stood up quickly, throwing open her bedroom window.

Frigid air poured in thick like water from outside, quickly displacing the heat that puffed out of her electric heater in the corner. Akane waited patiently, hands on the clasps of her window, the cold air ruffling her hair in a silent breeze. Finally, she heard the smallest of sniffles from somewhere above her.

She called out softly, "Ranma? Is that you?"

There was no answer. After half a minute, she called out again. Once more, no answer.

Her restlessness of the last few hours and her desperation to speak to him combined to make her grow irritable, very quickly. "Alright then," she called louder, "I guess I'll have to climb up on the roof myself and see what that noise was. It'll be _very_ dangerous for me, but I have no choice if whoever's up there won't answer me!"

"Wait." The roof creaked, and Ranma stuck his head out over the edge of the roof. "Fine." His braid slipped down over his shoulder as he considered her with a frown, upside-down from his position on the roof. His words came out in white clouds in the cold air. "Don't try to climb up here, it's me."

Relief flooded the short haired girl, and it was all she could do to keep from smiling. But it wouldn't be fair to smile at him, not until she apologized. Instead, she set her face into a neutral expression.

"Get inside, you're going to freeze." Akane stepped over, making room for him to enter in through her window.

"No."

Even upside-down, Akane could tell he was pouting. She lowered her eyelids in annoyance. "If you don't get down, I'm going to climb up there and pull you down myself."

"No."

"Here I come." All she had to do was step on the window ledge and Ranma grunted.

"Fine."

Ranma disappeared momentarily, then reappeared feet-first, and swung himself down from the overhang of the roof into the open window, landing softly next to Akane.

Trying to hide her pleasure at coercing him down, Akane fiddled with the clasps on the window as she closed it behind him. Once the window was closed, however, reality sunk in, and she suddenly grew awkward, remembering their last interaction. She stayed there, hands on the window frame, before slowly turning around.

Ranma was standing there in the middle of her room, avoiding eye contact, his arms crossed. She noticed the goosebumps running along his arms, and a slight shiver in his shoulders. Grabbing a blanket from her bed, she tossed it to him. "How long were you up there?"

Ranma caught the blanket and looked at her hesitantly, before wrapping it loosely around his shoulders. "Not long," he lied.

In truth, Ranma had spent most of the afternoon sitting on the roof over her bedroom. After leaving the girls at the ice skating rink he had contemplated just leaving Nerima altogether until the curse was over, in hopes that if he wasn't around she wouldn't get into trouble. But he knew that if he disappeared bad things would still happen, except without him being there to save her. And the other possibility was that the curse would play out, and she would end up loveless for the rest of her life.

Instead, like the desperate protective fool he was, he returned to the spot on the roof over Akane's bedroom, where he always staked out during times when he had to make sure she stayed safe. From here he could see and hear if anything happened, and if she was involved he would be able to intervene within seconds, if necessary.

Due to his direct route home via rooftops, he beat the taxi to the house, and watched the three shivering girls make their way into the house. He heard their quiet voices from the bathroom, and let himself lay back and relax momentarily, grateful to her friends for listening to him and staying with her. Instead, he turned his focus to the most agonizing decision of his life.

 _I need to break up with Akane._ It was his only option. His feelings weren't the priority anymore, and for a matter of fact, neither were hers. His number one excuse for trying to find a cure was that he didn't want to make any decisions for her, that she could like whomever she wanted. But the time had come to stop playing with her life for the sake of his own desires. Her life was more important than her feelings. And with Ranma out of the picture, she could still live a normal life. It wouldn't change anything for her, not really. She would fall in love with someone else and move on. And Ranma wouldn't have to worry about putting her in harm's way anymore. Ever again.

 _I need to break up with Akane,_ he repeated, his eyes on the sky. _I need to give up on her, and she needs to give up on me._ Clouds drifted quickly and high above him, the sunlight that appeared in patches doing little to cut through the cold of the day. _I need to break up with Akane._

Ranma placed an arm over his eyes, hiding the tears that rolled silently down his cheeks as he repeated to himself the words he never wanted to speak.

But now, standing in Akane's bedroom, her blanket around his shoulders, Ranma struggled to find the courage he had been attempting to foster in himself all afternoon and evening. She stood in front of him, her large brown eyes rendering him wordless. Just hearing her voice call out to him was enough to make him falter, and seeing her actually in front of him had almost completely crumbled his resolve.

"Hey I – "

"Listen, today – "

They both started and stopped their sentences together. They hesitated, then Ranma, worried every second with her would make it more difficult, opened his mouth again, but Akane stopped him.

"No. I need to say this first. Before you say anything." Akane twisted her hands in front of her, and looked down. "I am so, so sorry, about what I said to you earlier. I was confused, and thought something had happened that didn't, and I took it out on you and that was not fair of me."

Ranma started to speak again, but Akane interrupted him.

"No, listen, I... I haven't been myself lately. I think it was the stress of the test, and then it was collapsing in the snow, and," she swallowed hard, trailing off. She had struggled with whether or not to tell Ranma about the visions she was having, but after how she treated him earlier she knew she had to give him a proper explanation. She had thought about it carefully, and there was no way around it. "There's, um, something I want to tell you. I haven't been totally honest with you-"

"I want you to forget me."

A pregnant silence filled the room, Akane's eyes unmoving from the floor in disbelief, Ranma standing incredibly still in the middle of her room.

"What?" Her voice was barely over a whisper.

"Forget about me." Ranma repeated it, clearly, his tongue verging on the words he didn't want to say. He hesitated a second too long, the words too difficult to say.

"Is this because of today?" Akane finally lifted her eyes to his again, and as she stepped forward, his fingers clutched the blanket around his shoulders in an attempt to steady himself. "I promise, I didn't mean it, let me explain-"

"You don't need to explain anything," Ranma said with deliberate frankness. He had to be forceful, he had to be cruel. He had to avoid her eye contact. "It's not, today isn't, I mean," he was tripping over his words already, her face was too close, tears were welling up in her eyes. "I'm the one who should be sorry," he blurted out.

Akane's face filled with confusion, her eyes searching his, her lips forming the word 'what?'. Her look of desperation stabbed him in the heart, and the last of his resolve was gone. "For god's sake… I can't! I can't, not to you, goddamn it don't cry." Ranma reached out and ran his thumb across her cheek, brushing away tears that had started to fall.

Wiping away more tears, Akane sniffled, "I'm so sorry, I'm going crazy, I don't know what's going on with me-"

"You're not going crazy," Ranma mumbled, unconsciously putting a hand on her waist to steady her as she rubbed away her tears with her fists. "I…" He watched her, small and sorrowful, and Dr. Tofu's words came back to haunt him. ' _If Akane's life is in danger, she does deserve to know.'_

"Goddamnit," he grumbled. "I didn't want to tell you this. Not until I had all the facts: not until I knew for sure. But... there's something you need to know." This news was not going to be easy to share, especially once she found out that he had kept it from her for days. _Well_ , he thought dryly, _I was always good at making her mad._ _"_ First, you have to stop crying though, okay?"

Akane looked confused, but nodded and struggled to clean up her face and calm herself down. She wiped her eyes and Ranma guided her to sit back down in her desk chair. Then he stood with his back against the wall, his arms crossed.

"This, um," he scratched his nose, watching her. "This isn't easy to say. But, I –"

Two loud knocks sounded from her bedroom door. "Aka-ane," Nabiki said in a sing-song voice. "There's someone here for you."

Akane and Ranma looked at each other. "Oh," Akane said slowly, "um, okay, coming." She stood up, giving Ranma an apologetic look, and crossed the room to open the door.

As she pulled it open, she asked, "Who is – _oh my god!_ " From where he was standing, Ranma couldn't see who was in the doorway. Instead, all he saw was Akane disappear behind the door, and the sound of a young man laughing.

Nabiki entered, glancing around the room until she spotted Ranma. She smirked at him, and he instantly grew worried. "I thought you'd be here," she said quietly and with a wink and Ranma's eyebrows stitched together in worry what that meant.

But it was as the young man spoke that Ranma's blood started to boil. He recognized that voice.

"Akane, hello again!"

In two broad steps Ranma was at the door, throwing it open to reveal Akane, her arms wound around the shoulders of a tall young man in a hug.

" _Shinnosuke!"_ The disbelief in her voice was tangled up with joy. "What are you doing here?!"

"I love," Shinnosuke laughed, "that I can remember you so easily." He set her back down on her feet, grinning easily at her. "I can't remember anything as easily as I can remember you."

"Hey now," Ranma growled, instantly on the offense at seeing the other teenage boy. The last time Akane and Shinnosuke had been together, Akane had almost died trying to save his life. Not to mention, it had been one of the biggest misunderstandings in their relationship and the closest they had come to breaking up before this. That he should appear now, at another crossroads in their relationship, instantly made him wary. _What are the chances he would appear now, of all times..._ Quickly his eyes flitted over to Nabiki who was smiling smugly at the reunited pair. _She couldn't have planned this, could she have? Does Nabiki know something..._

"Oh," Akane said in shy surprise to Shinnosuke's naïve innocence, her cheeks turning pink. "Um, thank you."

"Looks like a happy reunion, huh?" Nabiki now had her focus on Ranma, and was not subtle in her attempt to goad him into reacting. "You know, if you weren't around, I'd place my bets on these two becoming lovebirds. They're both equally dense and simple, don't you think?"

"Hey," Ranma grumbled, "whose side are you on?!"

"I'm on Akane's side," Nabiki said abruptly, dangerously. "And I always will be." She physically turned away from him, making it clear their conversation was over. Ranma glared at the back of her head, his mind on her words.

 _If I succeed in making Akane forget about me..._ Ranma's eyes went to the face of the man who had stepped into the room, as Akane gave him a brief tour of her room. _Is this the guy she'll fall for instead?_

The thought was too much to stomach.

"Hi." Ranma stepped up next to Akane, glaring daggers at Shinnosuke. "Shinnosuke." His glare was so intense and obvious that Akane whacked him in the arm, but he ignored her.

Shinnosuke stared at Ranma long and hard. "Ah," he said suddenly, "you..."

"Yeah," Ranma started, "me."

"I didn't see you there. It's nice to meet you." Shinnosuke stuck out a hand, his face blank. "I'm Shinnosuke." His words were said with complete honesty and lacked any hostility. He truly had forgotten the pig tailed boy in front of him. "I'll be in your and Akane's care."

Ranma seethed, blowing air out between his teeth. "Hey, you, how could you forget about me?!"

"Oh. Easily," Shinnosuke said in all seriousness. "It happens very often. I really only remember Akane," he flashed her a smile that she returned, "and my grandfather. Who," he thought for a moment, "I believe is still alive?"

Akane giggled, "Typical Shinnosuke."

"'Typical Shinnosuke'," Ranma mocked under his breath.

"Well," Nabiki started moving towards the door, "should we go join everyone downstairs?"

"Wait," Ranma said, putting a hand on Akane's arm as she started to leave. "We, uh," he glanced at the other two people in the room, "we should finish the conversation we were having."

"Oh," Akane said, catching on, "yes, we should. Nabiki, Shinnosuke, I'm sorry but—"

"Ranmaaaaa honey, are you in here?" Ukyo stuck her head into the doorway, looking around the room until she spotted Ranma. "Oh, good!" She entered the room uninvited, prompting a protest 'hey!' from Akane.

As Ukyo stepped in, Akane shock at her appearance quickly became anger. The normally conservatively dressed girl had ditched her chef clothes for a dress that was much too short for winter, and had compensated for warmth with holiday themed stockings and high boots. Akane noticed the small sprig of mistletoe attached to twine hung around her neck. Her fury reached a boiling point as Ukyo wound an arm around one of Ranma's and stared lovingly up into his face. "I'm here to pick you up for our Christmas Eve date!"

"Date?!" Ranma and Akane said almost in unison, both incredulous.

"Oh, is this your girlfriend?" Shinnosuke asked Ranma, smiling at Ukyo.

Before Ranma could reply, Ukyo smiled pleasantly at Shinnosuke and said quickly, "I'm Ranma's fiancée."

"Oh? Oh I see." Shinnosuke said, and his smile grew. "Hm." He looked at Akane. "I wonder why that makes me feel so relieved."

Akane was too absorbed in figuring out what was going on with Ranma and Ukyo to notice what Shinnosuke said. "Christmas Eve date?" She was looking at him in disgust. "Is this what you were saying before?"

"No!" Ranma protested, trying to shrug Ukyo off. "I don't know what date you're all talking about but—"

"Oh Ranma honey," Ukyo said, raising her voice slightly. "How could you forget? It must be a **curse** to forget the one you love."

Ranma's blood ran cold with the way she emphasized the word 'curse.' _No... What?_ With trepidation, he turned his head slowly, looking into her face. She smiled up at him, and raised her eyebrows. "Do you remember now? Or must I be _cursed_ with _heart break_?"

 _Oh god._ Realization hit him slowly as he processed her words. Ukyo winked, and tugged on his arm.

"What is she talking about, Ranma?" Akane had picked up on the horror that crossed Ranma's face, and the odd way Ukyo was speaking.

"Ranma honey?" Ukyo lowered her voice, leaning in closer so that only Ranma could hear her. "Do you want to tell her? Or," she paused, "should I?" She wasn't smiling anymore.

Ranma kept his eyes on Ukyo, and struggled to stay calm. He refused to look at Akane. "No, that's okay. I remember now. Yeah."

Ukyo's smile returned and she patted his chest with the hand not already wrapped around him. "Yes, Ranma honey. Now, let's go. You promised to spend Christmas Eve with your cute fiancée."

"Ta-ta," Nabiki waved after them as Ukyo led Ranma out of the room. Ranma shot her a look as he passed, but Nabiki played it off and just looked ignorant. He couldn't even look at Akane as he slid past her and Shinnosuke.

"Ooh that Ranma!" Akane felt her hands tense into fists. _That…! That moron! That womanizer! That dirty lying rat! We spend all day together, guess that means nothing to good ol' Ranma! 'Forget me' he says, pah! He just wants to clear the way for him and Ukyo?! Well, fine! See if I stop them!_ "Ranma," she growled under her breath, "you _idiot!_ "

"You know," Shinnosuke said thoughtfully, unaware of Akane's fury, "she's right. Forgetfulness really does start to feel like a curse sometimes."

* * *

"Look, I get it. You're mad. But we need to talk about this, Ranma honey."

Ranma, scowling, was looking out the window of Ukyo's restaurant, his back to the chef as she cooked up two okonomiyaki. The shop was closed except for the two of them. Ukyo had tried to coax Ranma into a different, fancier restaurant in hopes to turn this into a real date, but Ranma had been too furious to be coerced into it. The best Ukyo could do was to shape the pancakes into hearts in an attempt to make it look romantic.

After refusing to answer his questions about how she found out about Akane's situation, Ranma had given her the cold shoulder. He was too stubborn to leave without finding out what she wanted, but he wanted to make it clear that she wasn't about to enjoy her time with him either.

Flipping the okonomiyaki, Ukyo continued, her companion remaining silent. "It's her _life_ , Ranma. Look, if someone told me to give up on you I'd tell them they were crazy. But if they told me there was nothing else I could do, if it was to lose you or for you to lose any chance of being happy with someone, I'd probably listen."

Sliding the heart-shaped okonomiyaki onto plates, Ukyo walked around the counter to join Ranma at the table. She placed the plates down and pulled up a chair, watching him silently. After a few moments, the smell won him over, and Ranma reached over to take a reluctant bite, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the shape.

Halfway through the meal, he finally spoke. "Ya don't think I don't know that? I was trying to tell her to give up on me when you clowns all showed up." _Although I think I was actually about to tell her the truth about the curse, instead..._

Ukyo let out a long, low sigh, shaking her head. "Ranma, you poor delusional boy."

"Hey, watch it," he growled.

"You think it'll be enough to tell her to stop loving you? I've told you to stop loving Akane plenty of times, and that doesn't do any good." Ukyo tapped the top of the table, looking serious. "If you want her to stop having feelings for you, you have to break her heart. It's the only way."

"Ahh," Ranma grumbled through a mouthful of the savory pancake, "I can't do that..."

"You can't do it _alone_ , that's for sure. That's why you need help. That's why you need me." Ukyo tilted her head, placing it in her hand and resting her elbow on the tabletop. "Look, I may come across as not liking Akane, but that's only because of her relationship with you. I certainly wouldn't wish her a life forever without love. A girl without love..." Ukyo sighed dramatically. "That's no life for someone like Akane."

Ranma looked up curiously. "'Someone like Akane'? What do you mean?"

"Well," Ukyo said thoughtful, tearing off a small piece of pancake, "I've never said it because of, well yunno, the 'you' factor, but Akane's a pretty cool girl. She's beautiful, and always gives her all, and she's devoted to her friends. Any guy – besides you – would be lucky to have her. Oh," she said suddenly, taking a sip of water, "speaking of which, who was that guy with her? He looked pretty smitten."

Ranma growled, his hands clenching into fists. "You know, you're really not helping as much as you might think you are..."

Ukyo clicked her tongue and shook her head. "You're not understanding! Look, it's not enough to make her forget about you, but you've got to get your own feelings in check." Ukyo leaned in, emphasizing her words, "You've got to forget her, too. You have to move on, too. You can't live your life pining away for someone who, after the next few days, will never look at you that way again. It's time you accept that."

It made his stomach turn, thinking about Akane and Shinnosuke together. It hurt his chest to imagine not having Akane in his life the way she had always been. _But, what Ukyo is saying, could it be true? Is that the only way?_ He couldn't even imagine how he would begin to give her up. He gulped down the last of his okonomiyaki, already feeling sick. _To break her heart..._

"Alright, well, I'm not saying I'm going along with it yet, but..." Ranma looked Ukyo over once. "I'll listen. What's your plan?"

"Well, I'm not saying you can forget her that easily. But you can at least act like it." Ukyo smiled slowly. "It's simple. It's the quickest way to break anyone's heart." Absent-mindedly, she picked a knife up off the table, and stuck it into the center of her heart-shaped okonomiyaki.

"Jealousy."

* * *

" _Merry Christmas!"_

The Tendo Family Christmas Party was in full swing. Lights twinkled across the dojo (the fallen beam had been hastily replaced and reinforced, as well as the hole in the floor), and music filled the large space. Drinks flowed freely, and food covered every surface. Pillows were scattered across the floor to accommodate for the short tables, and karaoke in the corner had people laughing hysterically, aided by the sake.

Nabiki was running a small betting table, and was having extreme success as the house. Kuno, stubborn and tearful, kept placing bets, as Sasuke drank sake next to him to drown his sorrows. Kasumi was being a diligent host, greeting new guests and making sure everyone was well fed and satisfied. Nodoka trailed around after her and helped where needed. Tendo and Genma sang together to karaoke at one table, spilling the sake glasses in their hands as they laughed.

An embarrassed Ryoga sat at a table with Akari. While still wounded by Akane's recent rejection, Akari had insisted they attend the party and Ryoga didn't have the heart to tell her what had happened and why he wanted to miss the party. Thankfully, however, he had had a chance to speak to Akane, and with a few choice words she had assured him that it was in the past, and that she was pleased to see him there with Akari.

The youngest Tendo girl wound her way between tables and happy guests, her hands filled with two plates and two cups. Akane rolled her eyes as she got to her table and set the plates down saying, "My father is making a fool of himself as usual."

Shinnosuke looked up and took one plate. "I think it's great. All of this, there's so much liveliness. Liveliness in Ryugenzawa is when a flying squirrel tries to fly through our house." Taking a sip of his drink he looked across the table to Akane. "And," he said slowly, his expression endearingly honest, "it's been very nice seeing you again, Akane."

Akane blushed slightly and smiled back before hastily hiding her face behind her own drink, her eyes scanning the room. _If only Ranma could be this nice to me,_ she thought bitterly. _And speaking of that pig-tailed idiot, I haven't seen him since breakfast._

The mood this morning at breakfast was chilly, as Ranma and Akane completely avoided each other. Akane had found it easy enough to pay attention to Shinnosuke instead of the braided martial artist sitting next to her, but what had concerned her was that Ranma had simply let her. Normally Ranma would have been more protective of Akane around Shinnosuke, considering their history together, but this morning it seemed to not bother him at all –in fact, he appeared to have no problem ignoring the two of them. _Must have been some date last night_ , she thought bitterly.

"Akane?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Yes?"

Shinnosuke grinned. "Nothing. I just love that I remember you."

Fighting off another blush, Akane smiled back. "Me too. And I'm so glad you could take some time off to join the Christmas party. Hey," she wondered, "how did you hear about the party anyway?"

"Hmm," he responded thoughtfully. "I thought someone told me? Did someone? There was something else, too..." He looked off to the side for a moment in thought, face screwed up as he tried to remember. Akane laughed.

"Never mind, never mind. Don't worry about it. So, tell me more about how Ryugenzawa is doing." Besides Akane's name, Shinnosuke could also decently remember the forest he grew up in and the giant monsters he spent his time with every day.

As Shinnosuke launched into a story about the baby koalas being down the hillside from his house, Akane was too absorbed in the story to notice as Ranma entered the room.

The young martial artist was in his best clothes, a dragon winding its way up his pant leg and up and over his shoulder to end growling on his chest. He wasn't alone. Ukyo stood next to him, her arm through his, wearing another dress that seemed too skimpy for Winter now that her coat was hanging in the front closet. This time, her stockings ended just above her knees. The mistletoe still hung on the twine cord around her neck.

"Ranma!" Kasumi greeted happily. "You look very dashing. Hello, Ukyo, you look lovely," she smiled and the chef smiled a greeting back. "Well, you know your ways around, come on in." Kasumi bustled on her way happily.

Nodoka was soon drawn to her son as well, and fussed over his clothes so frantically that she 'accidentally' ended up pushing Ukyo off his arm in an attempt to smooth out his clothes. "You look so handsome, my manly son!" She cried out, tears in her eyes. Then she leaned up to whisper in his ear, "But you know, you've got the wrong woman on your arm."

Genma had explained to Nodoka long ago the story of Ranma and Ukyo's engagement, and while she had been displeased enough to threaten her husband with seppuku, she understood that Ukyo in a way was also a victim of Genma's foolishness. As such, she supported Akane, but tried not to pick on Ukyo. Not too much, at least.

"Mother," Ranma said soothingly, "I've got this figured out. Thank you." He squeezed her arm, smiling dutifully at her. Nodoka sighed, fussed a bit more, and then left the two to be on their own.

Eyeing Ranma up and down Ukyo asked, "Are you sure you can handle this, Ranma honey?"

"Yeah," Ranma said, putting on a brave face. "I can. I have to."

"Alright," Ukyo warned, "well here's your first test." She pointed across the room.

Ranma followed her gaze until his eyes landed on Akane and Shinnosuke. It took his entire stock of self-control to keep himself from shouting in anger. Even from the other side of the room, Ranma could make out the laugh lines forming around her eyes as she giggled at the story Shinnosuke was telling her. They were sitting on the same side of the table now, Shinnosuke using the silverware on the table to demonstrate a part of his story, and Akane couldn't stop laughing as he made the forks dance across the table.

"That... bastard..." Ranma growled, his fists ready to punch the taller boy in the face.

"Now, now," Ukyo took one of his arms, "remember the plan."

The plan had seemed much easier when they were simply discussing it over food. Seeing the two of them together like this, though, was an entirely different matter. "Let's get this over with then," Ranma stubbornly took Ukyo's hand in his, and started making a beeline for the table with the giggling Akane and smiling Shinnosuke.

"...even though it was only a day old, it was still too big for the bath basin so instead – oh, er, hello."

Shinnosuke paused mid-story as Ranma sat down fiercely across the table from them. Akane's smile dropped as she noticed Ukyo in her tight clothes, hand firmly gripping Ranma's hand.

"Hello," Ukyo cooed, smiling triumphantly at Akane. She settled on a pillow next to Ranma, arranging her skirt carefully.

"Hi," Ranma said flatly, frowning. He was glaring at Shinnosuke.

"...Hey," Shinnosuke responded slowly, glancing back and forth blankly between the newly arrived pair and Akane.

Akane's gaze became icy and she sat up straighter, trying to look apathetic. "Can we help you two with something?"

"Just enjoying the party, isn't that right, Ranma honey?" Ukyo smiled at Akane.

"Right," Ranma grunted. Shinnosuke was starting to return the glare, unsure why Ranma was so angry. This was after all, as far as Shinnosuke knew, the first time they had met.

"Well," Akane said, sneering, "can you enjoy it somewhere else?"

"Nonsense Akane." Nabiki stepped up to them, depositing a tray of foodstuff on the table for Ranma and Ukyo. She had taken a break from the gambling table as Kuno struggled to find more money on his person. Sasuke was starting on a second bottle of sake. "Christmas is all about double dates, isn't it?" Nabiki tapped the table, smiling fiercely. "And it looks like there are two perfectly suited couples sitting right here."

Akane growled at her older sister, her hands balling into fists. "What are you playing at Nabiki?"

"I'm not playing at anything, dear sister," Nabiki put her hands up defensively. "I just want to remind you to be polite to our guests. And," she added slyly, "not to disturb other people during their date."

"Date?" Akane exclaimed, looking over at Ranma. "Is that what this is?"

"Of course, it is," Ukyo said for him. She wound her arm around one of Ranma's, leaning her head on his shoulder protectively. Ranma inched just slightly away, but Ukyo pulled him back. "Our Christmas Eve date went so well, we decided to have another one on Christmas. After all, we are fiancés and we've had some... very interesting talks about our future together recently. Right-" she turned to look at Ranma warningly, "Ranma?"

Ranma finally looked away from Shinnosuke, his eyes lowering to the table, unable to face Akane. "Yeah," he grunted in a non-committal voice.

"Well," Akane spoke through gritted teeth, "I'm so happy for you both."

"Yeah," Shinnosuke said, smiling amicably. "Congratulations."

Ranma's eyes shot back up to meet Shinnosuke's, and glared at him again. "You...!"

"Ranmaaa," Ukyo cooed, reaching for the food on the table. "Would you like something to eat? Here," she scooped up a small hors d'oeuvre, hovering it in front of his mouth. "Open up, dear."

Akane was visibly shaking from rage as she forced herself to turn away from the couple across from her, turning her attention on Shinnosuke again. "Shinnosuke, why don't we find a new table? This one is feeling a little too crowded all of a sudden." Akane stood up quickly, grabbing Shinnosuke's hand as she did. Shinnosuke's face lit up as he saw their hands connected, and he quickly pulled himself to his feet, smiling at her.

Ranma yelped at seeing them holding hands, but before he could speak Ukyo stuffed the bite-sized food into his open mouth. "Mm," she said patronizingly, "yummy, isn't it?"

As Akane stalked off past Nabiki, Shinnosuke trailing behind her still watching their hands, Ranma chewed stubbornly and grumbled, "This doesn't seem worth it." He swallowed hard, glaring after them even after he lost sight of them in the crowd.

"Well," it was Ukyo's turn to grumble now, "not if you give a performance like that. You're not very convincing, dear. You're supposed to be devoted to me," she put a hand on his chin, forcing him to face her, "not trying to kill that other boy with your facial expressions. Nabiki was more helpful than you."

"Speaking of which," Ranma pulled his face out of Ukyo's hand, and turned to glare at Nabiki, "you're up to something aren't you?"

"Me?" Nabiki said innocently, shrugging. "I'm just supporting people who want to be together. After all, Akane and Shinnosuke looked pretty content with each other before you showed up."

"Did you just come here to mock me?" Ranma growled.

"Yes. And no." Nabiki turned, absent-mindedly saying, "I was also sent here to tell you that Dr. Tofu is here, and he's looking for you for some reason. Something about a book or a paper or something?" She shrugged. "I felt like telling him if it's about a book that he'd have better luck looking for someone more literarily inclined than you, but – oh!"

Nabiki gasped as Ranma leapt at her, his hands going to her shoulders. He looked wild, and hopeful. "Where?! Where is he?!"

"Uh, in the front hall?" Nabiki looked at him curiously, but before she could ask, Ranma was gone, running to the main house.

"Ranma!" Ukyo called after him, and then sighed, putting her elbows on the table and reaching for food, mumbling to herself.

Ranma's feet dug through the snow as if it was nothing but air, pulling himself toward the front hall with hast. It was surprisingly warm outside, as they had created a bonfire in the yard for people to smoke and drink outside. The glow of the flames lit up the side of Ranma's face as he ran towards hope. _Dr. Tofu found something, he must have! He must have the cure! Akane..._ For the first time in days, Ranma felt hope that this curse may end well, after all.

"Dr. Tofu?!" Ranma wrenched open the door, shouting for the doctor. Dr. Tofu turned, and Ranma felt his hope soar, and then falter.

"Ooh hello!" Dr. Tofu patted the lamp next to him, grinning like a fool. "Ranma, you've gotten so skinny, yes, yes..."

Kasumi giggled, shaking her head. "Silly Tofu..."

"Hm? What?" Dr. Tofu's looked pleasantly blank, a small distant smile on his face. "Oh yes, yes."

Ranma wrung his hands in the air before him. _Damn it, Tofu! Damn it, Kasumi!_ The normally professional Dr. Tofu lost all of his composure when he was around the eldest Tendo daughter. Getting information out of him was going to be like squeezing water out of a rock. _But I have to know..._

"Dr. Tofu!" Ranma seized his shoulders like he had with Nabiki, trying to get his full focus. "You brought me something? You found it? The cure?! You did, didn't you?!"

"Did I?" Dr. Tofu said blankly as Kasumi giggled in the background. "I feel like I indeed may have, a-ha..."

"Our doctor can be so forgetful, can't he?" Kasumi laughed endearingly.

"Oh yes, so forgetful, that's me, hehe." Tofu laughed, throwing his arms about wildly. Ranma was in no mood to play around, and felt his anger growing quickly.

"Yes," he said forcefully. "You said you had something for me. A book? Some papers? _Come on!_ " Ranma shook him once and Tofu looked like he saw Ranma for the first time.

"Yes. Some papers? I did have some papers. One with a symbol for fire in the top right hand corner, that one was for you." He glanced around, as if looking for it, and saw Kasumi instead. A huge grin spread across his face and he started laughing again.

 _For god's sake…_ Ranma was just about to ask Kasumi to leave when she suddenly said, "Don't you remember? You told Mr. Saotome you brought kindling for the bonfire like he asked. You gave him everything you had – the wood, and the papers." Kasumi looked worriedly at Ranma. "Was it important? I'm afraid your father took the pile a few minutes ago..."

"No!" Ranma screamed, and turned. He flung himself at the door, the blood pounding in his ears. _The cure. The only thing to save Akane. No! No!_ Kasumi and Tofu were left behind as the door slammed behind him, Ranma leaping through the snow toward his father.

Genma, in his panda form, was happily drunk and stoking the fire. He rolled back and forth, appreciative of his thick fur and the warmth pouring off from the bonfire. As he reached for the next handful of sticks and crumpled pieces of paper, he felt something pull back. Confused, he turned his big head to see his son gripping the other side of the kindling.

"Pop, no, stop!" Ranma said, struggling against his father's panda strength.

Bewilderment grew to anger, and Genma pulled back on the fistful of tinder and paper. **This is** _ **my**_ **job!** he seemed to cry indignantly. Here was his young son, creating more trouble for him! Typical Ranma, getting in his way, always in his way... The alcohol and anger mixed together with his strength, as he played tug of war with his son over the small fistful of flammables.

"Damn it!" Ranma snarled. He could see the paper, an old faded flame with a Chinese character embossed over it, sticking out from the gathered pieces of sticks. _The answer, the only way to stay with Akane!_ "I won't let go Pop! Give it up! I need this!"

 **My! Job!** Genma roared, and in a burst of drunken speed, swept Ranma's legs out from under him, hit him in the chest, and lifted the kindling up and in an arc, launching the breathless Ranma through the air and toward the pond.

 _No..._ Disbelief filled him as his fingers scrambled against letting go, but the force of the throw was too much. The sticks, the papers, slipped through his finger as he went flying. Ranma soared through the air as if in slow motion, watching, in horror, as his father triumphantly threw the papers into the fire. Tongues of flame leapt up to meet the fluttering kindling, swallowing the only hope Ranma had left.

The frigid temperatures had frozen the small pond in their yard solid. It was with great force that Ranma landed on it, too preoccupied by his own horror to think about landing gracefully. He landed on his shoulder and head, and felt his neck give a terrible crack. Pain was fleeting though – Ranma had been hit with much worse.

 _What just happened._ Ranma scrambled to his feet, fingers scratching against the ice as he clawed his way through the ice and snow on all fours towards the fire. _No, no, no!_ In disbelief, he watched through the flames as the Chinese character printed on the page curled and blackened at the top of the pile of wood.

The fire burned bright spots into his eyes, but he couldn't look away. _There was a cure. I knew there had to be. Tofu found it. It was our one chance. And now it's gone._ It was gone, forever. _Our last chance._

Ranma sat there for several minutes, ignoring his father as he rolled around, thinking himself quite clever for defeating Ranma. Tears rolled unseen down Ranma's face, one after the other, quickly drying on his cheeks from his proximity to the bonfire. The fire threatened to burn him, but Ranma only felt cold.

It was truly over.

There was no way to save Akane anymore. No way to stay with her. He would never be allowed to love her.

As the door to the dojo opened, the sounds of jovial celebration mocked Ranma's sorrow. He wanted to scream, to cry out, to hurt someone. But his energy was gone. His shoulders were weighed down by hopelessness, and his fight was gone.

Footsteps crunched in the snow far behind him, and faintly he heard voices. Ukyo's voice was an attempt to sound convincing and level. Akane's voice was laced with rage. _Angry... She's always angry with me..._ Soon, he wouldn't even have her anger anymore, let alone her love.

Ranma stood up slowly, faintly aware that his pant legs had soaked through with the melting snow.

"Ranma!" Ukyo shouted, her voice unnaturally high. "You need to tell Akane the truth!"

 _The truth..._ Ranma turned around, his face hard. He saw Akane, standing there in her Christmas dress, her face red with anger, her eyes lonely and confused by whatever Ukyo had told her.

 _The truth is I love you. And you love me. And we will never be together._

"Ranma," Akane said, her fury pouring off her like the heat from the fire. "Ukyo has told me some pretty _interesting_ things." She crossed her arms, shooting a death glare at the smug girl next to her. "According to Ukyo, you've decided I've become 'too much trouble' with my 'outbursts' and that you've decided... Well, that you've decided to break off our engagement. For real."

While Akane attempted to make herself sound sure of Ukyo's deceit in those words, she also felt nervous. Recently, her and Ranma's relationship had seemed stronger than ever some days, and in ruins at other times. While she had never felt as confident in his feelings for her, she also hadn't ever felt so doubtful.

And the way he was looking at her now did little to appease her confusion. Ranma was standing tall, his body language confident with his shoulders thrust back. His eyes looked hard and angry, but also unspeakably painful. It was disconcerting, and after hearing everything Ukyo had told her in the last few minutes, made her blood run cold. _What if… No, he couldn't be actually thinking..._

"Ranma," Ukyo gently pressed him, unsmiling. "Tell her. Tell her what I said is true."

Ranma wanted to grab Akane and run away with her. He wanted to take her away from all the drama of life in Nerima. He wanted to take her someplace the curse couldn't reach her. Somewhere for just the two of them. For him to hold her, and love her, somewhere where they didn't need anyone else but each other.

But that was an unobtainable dream for him now.

"It's true," Ranma said.

It seemed that everyone, collectively, stopped breathing.

Ukyo was shocked at Ranma's resolve. Even she found his bluntness to be callous. If Ranma ever said anything like that to her... She shivered, just thinking about it.

"It's true." This time it was Akane speaking, repeating him. "It's true, then. All of it?"

"Yes." Ranma didn't have the energy left to despair to feel guilty. He only watched, his face set in stone, as Akane struggled to process his words. Over her shoulder, he saw Ryoga for the first time. Ryoga was leaning in the doorway of the dojo, his arms crossed. He had heard Ukyo and Akane shouting and looking for Ranma, so while Akari was distracted by karaoke he had snuck off. Their eyes met, and Ryoga only gave him a small nod. _You did the right thing,_ Ryoga's nod said. It did little to comfort Ranma.

Genma chose this moment to act up, his messily written sign popping up in front of Ranma's face. **What did you say, boy?!**

"Pop," Ranma said dangerously. "Shut it, and get out of here. I never agreed to anything." _I never agreed to marry her, I never agreed to any of this. I never agreed to care this much._

 _I never agreed to fall in love with her._

Ranma put one foot on his father, and with his full force he shoved him. Genma, in his drunken and round panda shape, went rolling past Akane and back through the open door into the dojo. He was greeted with cries of surprise and enjoyment. Ryoga, understanding the severity of the moment, closed the door behind him, shutting Genma and the Christmas party away and out of sight.

The sudden silence that fell over the scene brought Ranma's attention back to Akane. The look she gave him broke his heart.

Standing there, keeping herself from running, was all the Akane could focus on. Fury, hatred, embarrassment, loneliness, confusion, all of her emotions were washing over her like unrelenting waves trying to knock her down and make her cry.

Finally, through the lump in her throat, she spoke.

"Ranma," Akane spat his name out of her mouth like a piece of gristle. "I don't know what you're playing at. I don't know why you're treating me like this. But it is _very hurtful_." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she blinked them away angrily. "Whatever is going on, I don't want to be a part of it. Not anymore. You just..." A single sob broke through her defenses and her voice cracked as she cried, "you just stay away from me. I hate you! I never want to see you again!"

Akane Tendo turned in a flurry of anger and stormed away from Ranma Saotome. He stood, watching her go, unwilling and unable to do anything, to say anything, to stop her from walking away.

Bad karaoke and the smell of good food washed over them as Akane once more opened the door, and shut it behind her. Every time the door had opened and sound of joy came and left, his grief felt more poignant than the time before.

Ranma was sure he was alone. He couldn't see anyone or anything but Akane's face screaming at him through tears she tried to hide. It wasn't until cold fingers touched his arm that he remembered Ukyo standing there.

"Ranma honey?" Ukyo asked gently. "Are you okay?"

Ranma couldn't look at her. He just straightened his back and spoke with an even voice.

"Good. Good. This is what I wanted. This is what had to happen. It's over now. She won't love me again after tonight. Good."

Ukyo sniffled, the cold biting at her nose. As much joy as she wanted to feel now that Akane was no longer in her way, it was difficult to celebrate while Ranma was clearly dying inside.

"That's right," she whispered. "I'm sorry Ranma." She stroked his arm, trying to smile. "But, at least we have each other?"

Something in Ranma had broken that night. He watched Akane in his mind's eye, again and again, her face livid, her eyes crying. Telling him that she hated him. Watching her leave for the last time.

"Does this satisfy you, Ukyo?" Ranma looked at her, his eyes cold and empty. There was no malice in his voice, just honesty. "You _know_. You have to know how I must be feeling right now. About her. Are you really okay with that? Are you okay knowing? That if I could have chosen, it would have been her?"

Ukyo's eyes filled with tears. Slowly she released his arm, and took a step away from him. "That is very cruel to say."

Ranma stared at her. He was tired of making people cry tonight. He turned his back on her.

"It is much crueler to feel."

Ukyo stared straight ahead as Ranma left over the wall, leaving the Tendo dojo behind.

This was wrong. Akane was supposed to be gone as an obstacle in her and Ranma's way. But now, it was clear: Akane was even more of an obstacle than before. Ukyo had been wrong. Their entire plan had failed. He would not learn to fall out of love with Akane.

Ranma would never forget Akane now.

* * *

 _Stupid Ranma... Stupid, stupid Ranma... And stupid me..._

Tears had stained her cheeks and soaked through the handkerchiefs she kept fruitlessly using to wipe her eyes dry. Still, however, it seemed that she had more tears to give.

Akane sat at her desk, letting tears dot the tabletop unhindered by any handkerchiefs now. Her window was locked and her blinds were shut tightly. She would not be waiting for him tonight.

In front of her, wrapped in a brightly colored box, was a present labelled: "To Ranma, Love Akane."

 _It's a good thing I didn't give this to him,_ she repeated to herself for the hundredth time. _He would have thrown it in my face._ It was the present she had picked up with Ryoga, pretending it was a trinket for her dad. But she knew Ryoga must have figured it out when he saw her holding it. He was there, after all, when she came back in to the dojo. She saw the look on his face, the pity, the heartbreak on her behalf, and it had been too much.

With a hurried apology to Shinnosuke, Akane had grabbed the present from Ranma out from under her coat where she had stashed it, and left the Christmas party early. And alone.

Nabiki had come knocking on her door an hour later, but Akane had pretended to be asleep and refused to talk to her. She heard Genma and her father arguing, and had not had the heart to listen. The night seemed fake and washed out, like a nightmare. Her head was throbbing. She kept waiting to wake up.

Instead, she stood up, and picked up the present. She opened her bottom desk drawer, and placed it carefully inside. She looked at it wantonly, but when a tear landed on Ranma's name and the ink started to bleed, she shut the drawer hastily.

"Goodbye, Ranma," she whispered.

* * *

 **Author's Note 4/3/2017 –** Ahhh what a bummer of a chapter to return on, right? ;_; Apologies for the amount of time between chapters (I laugh at previous me who said she hoped to finish it 'before Christmas') and that this one was not a very happy one.

I do have good news, which is that the last two chapters are pretty much **finished** as well. That's what took SO damn long: I wanted to write them all, so that you readers wouldn't get one chapter and then more months of radio silence. I'm not going to put them up all at once though, and that is something I feel guilty about, but I want to see your reactions first.

I sort of want to get an understanding of your replies to what has played out between the characters at this point. I want to see what you want and expect from this story. I hope I have already written an ending that will be satisfying and true to the Ranma canon as well as my manipulation of it for this story, but I want some feedback first to allow myself a last chance to adjust and tweak and make the ending complete and satisfying. After all, I write this for you guys, so I want to make it worthwhile for you.

Anyway, whoops, long note! See you all again soon, I want to say the next chapter will be the soonest up in a week, the latest two weeks, depending on the feedback I get on this chapter. Please let me know how you're feeling. :)

And as always, thank you for reading. Thanks, especially, if you're reading this chapter now and sticking with me over the year and a half (!) that it's taken to write this story. I'm excited (and relieved) that it will be complete soon.


	9. A Need to Love, a Desire to Kill

**Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
April 2017

 **Chapter 9: A Need to Love, a Desire to Kill**

"Ranma? What are you doing here?"

Ranma awoke with a gasp, his eyes flying open. He sat up quickly, fresh from a dream about Akane. He swung his head around, looking for her, her name on his lips, when it was not Akane he found, but Dr. Tofu, standing over him, looking just as confused as Ranma felt.

"Did you break in here last night?"

The two martial artists were in one of the rooms in Tofu's clinic, Ranma on the bed where he had been sleeping until a few moments ago. The window, which he had indeed shimmied open late last night, still had the lock hanging from it. Ranma grumbled an apology, trying to remind himself how he got into this situation.

"More importantly, why aren't you with Akane?"

Ranma put a palm against his eye, rubbing the sleep away. "Everythin' is fucked," he mumbled.

"Language," Dr. Tofu reprimanded quietly, but quickly moved past it. "Tell me what happened."

It was only after hours of sulking that Ranma had a revelation last night. Although the paper had been lost forever in the fire, Ranma realized that Dr. Tofu had surely still seen its contents. With the way he had been acting last night at the party, Ranma had forgotten that the goofy idiot talking to a lamp and laughing to himself was actually an accomplished martial artist and an expert in foreign languages and arts that hinged on being mystic, and had likely read the paper in full before bringing it over. After all, why would he have brought it if he wasn't sure it would be the answer to Ranma's problem?

His plan, before he decided to seek out Dr. Tofu's help, had been to pack up and leave Nerima. Maybe even leave Japan. After all, the look Akane gave him was still haunting him – and had been prevalent in his dreams last night – and he was convinced that any affection she still had for him would be gone, if not already, then at least by tonight when the curse would end. So he had snuck back home in the middle of the night, scooped up some belongings and left a note, and had been on his way out of town when he passed by the clinic and came to a sudden halt. He was hesitant to give himself hope – he was just starting to come to term with the idea that he would never see her again – but the hope had still gnawed at him, and he was breaking into the clinic before he knew what he was doing.

Now it was morning, and the man in front of him could either crush his last remaining hope, or fix everything.

"Dr. Tofu!" Ranma jumped to his feet, narrowly avoiding his backpack of belongings, and gripped the older man's shoulders. "The paper you brought last night, does it have the answer? What does it say?"

Tofu nodded. "I wondered why you didn't bring it back to me. I figured you wouldn't be able to read it. Well, let's go over it together now. Where is it?" He held his hand out expectantly, fixing his glasses, getting into professional mode.

"Uh, er, um," Ranma stuttered and let his arms drop, looking at his feet. "It's gone. It burned in the bonfire." He knew it was pointless to get angry at Tofu about being careless – Ranma felt responsible that he wasn't able to wrestle it away from a drunken panda. "But," he started hopefully, "you must have read it, right? I mean, you were the one that brought it in the first place, so you must have..."

A shadow passed over Tofu's face. "I'm... afraid that is not the case."

Ranma's body sank into itself. "No?" His voice was tiny.

"No," Tofu said slowly. "In fact, I only found it as I was preparing to leave for the Christmas party. I needed my books to translate it, but I brought it with me because I thought..."

Ranma stopped listening. _Why did I let myself think there was another chance...?_ The newest loss of hope left him feeling like he had been slapped in the face. _Well, it's a good thing I made her hate me last night, at least I don't have to face her again._

"... and so I think that's the only thing that can be done now. Ranma? Are you listening?"

"Yeah, sorry," Ranma mumbled, turning his back on Dr. Tofu. He didn't want to risk crying in front of the other man. Better to leave with a shred of dignity. "I had better go..."

"First," Tofu put a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him from leaving out the window, "how did Akane react?"

"How do you think she reacted? She hates me." His fists curled up. _She hates me for real now, and by midnight tonight she will never love me again._

Tofu nodded, "Because you didn't tell her sooner? I told you she deserved to know days ago, you waited too long. Still, now she can be more careful."

Ranma looked at him blankly before his words registered. "Oh, no, I didn't tell her about that."

Tofu stared at him long and hard. "About the curse? You didn't tell her?"

"No."

"So she still doesn't know?"

"No."

Tofu slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Ranma swore, grabbing his head in pain. "What the hell—"

"You are a stupid boy," the doctor responded harshly.

"Who are you calling a boy?!" Ranma growled.

"I'm calling you a boy because only a boy like you would make decisions for Akane without giving her a choice in her own life!" Dr. Tofu wasn't yelling, but he was angrier than Ranma thought he had ever seen the genial doctor before. "I made a mistake when I didn't go and tell her myself. I misjudged you - I thought you would have the sense and decency to arm Akane with the knowledge that might have kept her safe! Ranma, this is much more serious than you realize –"

Ranma felt a flash of anger. "You think I don't realize—?!" Ranma stepped forward to seize Tofu by the collar, but before his fingers even touched cloth Tofu had his arm in in a painfully tight grip. In one movement, the doctor used his other arm to push against Ranma's chest, hard, and forced him backwards onto the bed and had him pinned with his elbow digging forcefully into Ranma's throat.

The two martial artists stared at each other, Ranma breathing hard in frustration, his arms effectively pinned, wincing at the sharp pain of Tofu's weight behind his elbow. When he struggled with his legs, he found Tofu had those restrained as well. Now he was forced to listen.

Dr. Tofu saw the resistance die in his eyes as Ranma figured out he wasn't getting up easily. "I understand you are in pain. I know this hasn't been easy for you, and you have felt singularly responsible for fixing this without causing her worry. But you have put Akane's life in even more danger by not telling her. That is on you, and on me for trusting you to do the right thing." Ranma looked away in annoyance, frowning, wishing Tofu would punch him instead of scold him. _It would hurt less._ "But now, it's time to tell her."

"It's too late now," Ranma mumbled. "She hates me. I made sure she does. The curse ends tonight, and it'll end the way it was always supposed to – she'll move on, and she'll never have to bother herself with me ever again." Why were his eyes stinging? Stupid, stupid Ranma...

"You weren't listening to me before, were you?"

"Yeah yeah," Ranma snarled, "I heard you pretty clear—"

"No, I mean earlier. Where I found the paper?"

Ranma shrugged as best as he could under the doctor's weight. "Fine. No. I wasn't listening then." His anger came again. "Would ya let me up already?!"

After a moment's hesitation, and after Ranma promised he wasn't going to run away, Tofu straightened, letting Ranma sit up. Ranma rubbed his throat reproachfully. "Why does it matter where you found it anyway?"

Tofu crossed his arms. "Do you remember my assistant?"

"Yeah," Ranma grumbled, "my useful old man. How could I forget him?"

He shook his head. "Not him. My first assistant."

Again, Ranma stared at him blankly until he remembered. His face darkened. "What _about_ her?""

"Shampoo," Dr. Tofu said and Ranma's fingers flexed, longing to feel her throat underneath them. "She brought the paper to me."

Ranma looked at him long and hard before speaking, "You talked to her?"

"No," Tofu responded with another shake of his head. "I haven't seen her in a while, but I figured it out. She left it right on my desk, where I would be sure to see it before leaving to go to the Tendo's for Chistmas. She tried to help."

"Do not," Ranma whispered dangerously, "ask me to forgive her."

"Whether or not Shampoo is deserving of your forgiveness is not my place to say. I certainly do not condone her behavior." Tofu almost hated the girl himself, for bringing so much danger and pain upon Akane. His only point of understanding was that he understood how love could bring out inner insanity – he could barely string a sentence together around Kasumi, but was grateful that that was the extent of his uncontrollable urges. At least he didn't get violent like Shampoo. "But do you understand what this means?"

Ranma blinked slowly, not comprehending. The fact that Shampoo had brought him the paper changed nothing. She was still to blame. She was still the reason Akane was in pain. She was still the reason Ranma would never have Akane to himself.

"It means Shampoo knows the way to remove the curse."

Ranma's blood ran cold and a strange numbness settled over his limbs. _Of course. Of fucking course._ Shampoo, who had started this whole thing, who said there was no other way to fix this, who didn't deserve to be alive, was now the only person who could help him.

"Fuck," Ranma swore, knowing what he had to do.

* * *

If it was possible, this morning had been worse than last night. Last night, her heart was broken by the one person who, despite continually letting her down throughout their relationship, had become a steady and constant presence in her life that she had, too strongly, believed would never leave her despite their problems.

But this morning, she was forced to endure questions. Looks of pity. Whispers meant to soothe her. Reassurances. Threats on him and the promise of getting 'revenge.' Finally, her head swimming due to the pain in her eyes from non-stop crying, Akane had stood, reminding everyone – her parents, her siblings, Ranma's parents, and a quiet Shinnosuke in the corner – that Ranma was his own person, and had the right to make his own decisions. No one could force him into this, so would they all just leave it and her alone?

She didn't understand why people were demanding answers from her. She didn't have the answers. If she did, then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. But as it was, Ranma had gone from sweet and considerate during their – ' _our' what? Date? God, I'm an idiot._ – to officially and finally calling off their engagement.

 _After everything,_ Akane thought bitterly, her eyes tearing up yet again as she walked back to her room, _after everything he's done, this is how he leaves it? Leaves me?_ The hurt was too fresh, too painful, but she knew what was going to happen. She wouldn't be able to leave him alone. Not yet. Not without answers. Despite what she had just told her family, Akane didn't care if it made her a hypocrite – Ranma needed to talk to her, to tell her why.

It was all too confusing. The visions of Ranma, her getting so hurt so much more than normal, Ranma acting so strangely, Nabiki being weird, Ryoga telling her to stay away from Ranma... It all fit together somehow. It had to. Akane wasn't stupid, and she was going to figure it out.

 _But for right now,_ Akane pressed her palms up against her eyes, _I need to sleep._ Last night's sleep had been fitful, at best.

As Akane put her hand on her doorknob, she heard someone behind her.

"Akane?"

Akane turned to look over her shoulder, ready to tell her dad to leave her alone, but it wasn't him. Instead, Shinnosuke stood there, looking concerned.

"Shinnosuke," Akane said, already apologetic, "I'm so sorry you had to be there for all that, my family isn't the most considerate to our guests..."

Shinnosuke hesitated, then walked up to her slowly, his hand going to her face. Her cupped her cheek gently, wiping a small tear away. "How could he hurt you?"

Akane sniffed, blinking. "What do you mean?"

Now his thumb was tracing her cheekbone. "How could anyone hurt you like that? Make you so sad..." His own face reflected her sadness. It wasn't pity in his eyes, like she had seen downstairs in the faces of the adults around her, but genuine sadness on her behalf. "Do you love him?" he asked quietly.

Akane flinched at the question. It made her stomach knot up. "I—that's a very personal question..."

"Of course," he said, "I'm sorry." He lifted his hand from her face, but as he lowered it his fingers found her hand instead. He held it softly in his, his eyes never leaving hers. "Akane, I know this is a painful time, and I'm being very selfish, but—"

"Shinnosuke," she tried to interrupt, her heart hurting too much to try to listen what he had to say. He had confessed his love to her once before, in the forest, but had forgotten.

"Ask yourself, does he make you laugh more often than cry?" That made her freeze, her breath catching. "Does he bring you more joy, or more sadness? If not for yourself, for the people who... care about you, please, try to think about it, when you can." He squeezed her hand, and she looked down at it, feeling shocked. Since when had Shinnosuke been so well-spoken and composed? She looked back up at him, searching his face. _Is this...?_

'Is this what it feels like to be loved?' she had just been about to ask herself. Ranma had treated her in a similar way only a few times before, when he held her hand, or pulled her aside where no one else could see them. This interaction with Shinnosuke certainly left her feeling the same way, her cheeks turning pink.

Shinnosuke was the opposite of Ranma. He was gentle and nice to her, and he wasn't afraid to speak his feelings. He was similar to Ranma, too – they were both accomplished fighters, they both protected her when she needed it, but relied on her too. But right now, looking into Shinnosuke's sad eyes, Akane felt her heart beating strangely.

"I, um," Akane blinked, breaking a trance she hadn't realized she had fallen into, so lost in her pain and thoughts and Shinnosuke's eyes. She gave him a small smile, and nodded, ducking her head away. "Th-Thank you, Shinnosuke, I'll definitely think about what you said. Thank you." She squeezed his hand back, then quickly disappeared into her room.

With the door between the two of them, Akane breathed heavily, feeling like sobs were building in her throat. She shook her head, crossed her room, and bent over her desk, hands flat on the desk surface.

This was too much.

Her head was too messed up. She was too confused.

How could he do this to her?! How could Ranma just leave without an explanation?! He didn't actually tell her anything – she had heard it all from Ukyo, Ranma didn't even have the guts to face her like a man! How could he choose someone else over her?! How could he abandon her on Christmas?! How could he leave her behind after everything they had done together, survived together?!

And how could she still be in love with him after everything he had done?

Akane sobbed now, letting tears fall on her desk, surprised she had more to give. She did still love him. She knew that. Her heart was broken, and it ached, because this was love with Ranma. It meant tears, it meant pain, but it meant always coming back together. "You bastard," she sobbed quietly to herself, alone in her room. "Come back to me... I... love..."

" _Akane?"_

Her head shot up, looking to the man sitting hunched in her window frame. It was Ranma, his face shocked and pale.

" _You're crying?"_ The sorrow in his voice struck her harder than Shinnosuke's had.

"Why do you think?!" She snapped back, quickly trying to get rid of the evidence by wiping furiously at her eyes.

Ranma seemed to deflate. " _It's my fault?"_

Akane hiccupped, nodding but also trying to shake her head. She was feeling light-headed and dizzy again. "You, you left me... You..." She hiccupped again, blinking at him. "But... but you're back... _You came back... For me?"_

" _Of course," Ranma said quickly, holding a hand out to her. "I could never leave you for real."_

" _I really want to believe that," Akane said slowly, relief filling her slowly like someone pouring water into a cup._

" _Akane," Ranma laughed easily, his smile making her smile back. "Everything was a lie. It's you that I need to be with. Come on, we're leaving." He gestured with the hand he was holding out to her._

" _W-what?" Akane stuttered, reaching hesitantly toward him. In the back of her head she heard a small voice telling her this was wrong._

" _We're leaving, together, we're going somewhere where no one can get between us anymore. It's_ you _I want to be with."_

 _Akane took his hand, and he pulled her to him. He hugged her tightly to his body, whispering in her ear. "Do you trust me?"_

" _Of course," Akane said, burying her face in his neck. She wanted this. She wanted this so badly, it was okay to ignore the small part of her that tried to remind her how upset she had felt only a few moments before._

 _She allowed Ranma to lead her through her window, and pull her up onto the roof. He held her hands as they walked along the roof, and whispered in her ear, and kissed her softly along her neck and ear. It was captivating for Akane. She felt dizzy with love, her eyes opening and closing in slow, lazy blinks. This was right. This was what love was supposed to be like._

 _Slowly, they approached the edge of the roof. Ranma pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. Akane breathed deeply, feeling sleepy._

" _Do you love me?" Ranma asked softly, his words muffled against her hair._

" _Mm," she said sleepily._

" _Say it," he urged her, "I want to hear you say it."_

" _I love you," she said, her eyes closed, and she felt his lips up against hers._

 _He kissed her gently at first. But his stronger desire came over him, and soon he was kissing her passionately. His hands tangled in her hair, and she surrendered herself to him._

 _A cold wind burned her where his body had just been. She opened her eyes, his hands and mouth gone from her. She stared at a different Ranma, his expression hard. "Die with my taste on your lips."_

 _And he pushed her, her body falling like a limp doll over the edge of the roof._

* * *

Nabiki had been surprised at Ranma's conviction last night. When she had first overheard him and Ryoga talking about the curse outside the café a few days ago, his resolve had been weak. He didn't want to tell Akane about the terrible curse placed on her, but he also didn't have a plan. She was sure he wouldn't be able to leave the Tendo girl alone, but last night he had finally acted.

Nabiki Tendo's first rule of life was to make money in any situation possible. Manipulation didn't matter to her. Pain didn't matter to her (as long as it wasn't hers). She was willing to do whatever it took to make a buck and come out as the winner. Feelings and other people be damned!

But something strange had happened to her that week. She felt parallels could be drawn between her and the Christmas character 'the Grinch.'

It was while she was hatching her original plan. Before she started any scheme, she got herself familiar with all the information she was selling. In this case, it meant puzzling together what the two boys had been saying. It was a curse placed against Akane because of her feelings for Ranma. Okay, easy. Who placed the curse? While the boys hadn't said, it had to be someone who was jealous of Akane, because of their feelings for Ranma. Okay, which of those ladies could have placed the curse? Ukyo didn't seem likely, as she didn't seem like a curse using type, so she was out of the list of suspects. Kodachi could have easily have done something this heinous to Akane, but Kodachi had not been hanging around lately. If she had caused the curse, she would have bragged about it endlessly.

That left Shampoo. It seemed cruel even by Shampoo's standards. For, as she had begun to understand from the conversation she overheard, this curse seemed it was powerful enough to potentially kill her. And that was something Shampoo had always threatened to do, but when it came down to it, Akane was still alive even though Shampoo was clearly a stronger opponent than her. But what with the failed wedding only a few months passed, added desperation seemed a possible enough motive to increase the mortality factor for Shampoo to get her way.

So, the last thing to do was figure out what the curse actually was, and what it did. It clearly involved Akane's feelings for Ranma, she knew that, but Ryoga was trying to woo Akane out from under him. That meant all that needed to happen was to separate the two of them – a feat eager fiancés would be happy to do – and that meant she could squeeze money out of multiple people for the same information.

As such, her original plan had been to go around quickly, selling the information and idea that now was the time to pull the two apart to every fiancé or love interest of both Akane and Ranma that would pay. Part of her did feel bad – she did know how Akane felt about Ranma, and that this latest scheme was probably going to make her sister pretty upset – but she also felt like if the universe hadn't separated the pair yet, they would work it out eventually. Otherwise, maybe they weren't meant to be.

But then something Ryoga had said popped into her head: 'even if you do find a cure, she could die before then.' She tried to shrug it off – Akane appeared invincible in her eyes now – but the thought nagged at her, and she thought more carefully about the curse.

Slowly, Nabiki figured it out. When Akane had almost fallen off the roof, Nabiki had taunted her, thinking it was just her sister's natural clumsiness. Then she passed out in the snow at night. Nabiki had tried to laugh that one off as well, but it was scary. It scared them all, more than they were willing to let on. But they all knew she would be fine. After all, this was Akane, and she had Ranma. He would keep her safe. But if he couldn't keep her safe, if in fact it was her feelings for Ranma that would endanger her, then just being around him put her in danger.

And Nabiki Tendo, for the first time ever, became worried about someone else.

It was not a good feeling. She didn't enjoy it. She preferred how she was before she became worried, when she was willing to betray family or risk life-threatening situations for a profit. But... What did life-threatening really mean in this situation? She had no qualms about putting Ranma in any dangerous situation he may face, and she had been fine with hurting Akane in the past, but to let her sister's life be at risk, truly at risk, made her... uncomfortable.

Nabiki had promised herself not to tell anyone what had happened when Ranma carried Akane in through the door that night she had almost frozen outside. When she had seen Akane laying there, cold and still in her bed, Nabiki's breath had left her as she was suddenly taken back in time, and it was their mother she had seen laying in the bed.

Akane was old enough to remember their mother holding her and playing with her. Kasumi was old enough to remember their mother teaching her to cook, and life lessons on how to be a good person. Nabiki was old enough to remember her mother's death. She didn't have the same length and quality of time that Kasumi had with her, and she didn't have the adoration of being the youngest child and needing the most attention. She remembered her mother loving her fiercely, but her death was the thing she remembered most.

The thought had come and gone quickly, and Nabiki brushed it off like she did with most emotional things. She had found her peace with their mother's passing, and missed her, but understood it was a fact of life for her now. But losing Akane the way she had lost her mother had never seemed possible – Akane was too strong, stronger than Nabiki herself. But a curse that threatened her life, and was starting to make good on that promise, was new. It was nothing they had encountered before.

So while Nabiki was taking the curse more seriously, and a strange protectiveness for her younger sister had come over her, she was still a devil at heart, and decided the plan would continue, but she would be more clever and more involved than she previously thought. She paced around her room at night, thinking, using her scheming brain for once in an attempt to help someone else other than herself (but still herself, of course). Slowly, a plan had formed.

Ukyo was the obvious choice. Her and Shampoo were the only real contenders against Akane, and Ranma had a soft spot in his heart for Ukyo as a childhood friend. Nabiki doubted Shampoo would even be in the picture if Ranma knew it was her fault, or if he already did know. So it was Ukyo she had turned to first.

But when she realized Ryoga, sweet though he was, had no chance of persuading Akane to leave Ranma, Nabiki had thought of the only person who she had seen sway her sister's heart before: Shinnosuke.

It had taken some planning, but finally Nabiki had coerced Shinnosuke to attend the Christmas party. In fact, she had made a pretty penny off of Shinnosuke's forgetfulness. She sold him the same information three times. But after the third time, the boy was mysteriously out of money, so Nabiki told him again for free out of her own frustration. "Ranma is bad news for Akane," she said at last, gripping his face and trying to force him to remember. "You love Akane. Akane loves Ranma. Make Akane. Forget. Ranma."

"O-Okay," Shinnosuke had replied passively, confused.

It was a frustrating endeavor, but it seemed the thought had at least crossed into his subconscious, and Shinnosuke had been suspicious of Ranma since meeting him.

So after last night, when something – she was still figuring out what – had happened to Ranma and he had finally turned his back on Akane, Nabiki had felt triumphant. Sure, her sister was upset, but she was alive, and what did boys matter anyway? Shinnosuke wasn't a bad guy – she had been serious when she compared them to a couple, citing both their simpleness – and Akane could either learn to love him, or find someone else.

But after seeing Akane today, how affected she was by last night, Nabiki realized that her scheming wasn't done yet. The girl clearly still cared for him. She felt like a second choice behind Ukyo, and that wasn't going to be enough to stop her. Nabiki had to ensure that Akane was convinced that Ranma was the scum of the earth, that it wasn't just Ukyo but other girls who he would choose over Akane.

So Nabiki Tendo picked up the phone, and dialed.

* * *

Her landing was surprisingly gentle.

As she had watched the roof of her house extending away from her, she was too numb and caught off guard to try to protect herself. So she gave up. She let herself fall. She even closed her eyes. Akane was tired, tired of fighting, tired of having Ranma play around with her. She had fallen for it again, a softer, sweeter version of Ranma, who promised her love and safety, then immediately ripped it out from under her.

But as she waited to hit the ground, hard, it never came. She did come to a stop suddenly, but there was a gentle give to her landing, and a soft grunt.

Opening her eyes again, his name was already leaving her throat, "Ran-?"

It wasn't Ranma who had saved her, like he promised to always do. It was Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke was looking at her in wild disbelief. From his perspective, he had seen Akane teetering on the edge of the roof, looking lost and sad. But before he could call out to her, she was falling backwards over the edge. He had had to rush forward and had just gotten there in time to catch her.

Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw movement. He looked over his shoulder, searching the nearby shrubs, when Akane called his name out softly.

"Shinnosuke?" He turned back to her.

"Are you unhurt?" He asked quickly, his arms still holding her behind her shoulders and under her knees.

She nodded stiffly, then cracked. She threw her arms around his neck, buried her face against his chest, and wept out apologies.

Shinnosuke, confused and alarmed, shook his head, and tried to soothe her. "It's okay. It's okay, you're fine now." He adjusted his gripe, holding her more carefully in case he was hurting her. "I'm going to take you back inside – is that okay? Can I take you to your room?"

Akane nodded against him, keeping her face covered.

"Oh, Akane," Shinnosuke sighed sadly, and hugged her just a bit tighter. "It's okay," he said again, as he walked her back to the side entrance of the house, and quietly and quickly brought her to her room.

Still outside, a figure moved out from behind a bush, brushing leaves out of his hair. "Goddamn you, Ranma," Ryoga growled. "You can't even break her heart right."

Ryoga had been as suspicious as Nabiki about Akane's remaining feelings. And so, he had been watching her as carefully and inconspicuously as possible since last night. Seeing that vacant, sad expression on her face had alerted him quickly that something was wrong, but Shinnosuke had beaten him to her as she fell.

Ryoga hid quickly, cursing Ranma, and even cursing Shinnosuke a bit. He was grateful the other had saved her, but he was annoyed how suave and calm this mysterious forest man was, and how he was clearly enamored with Akane. Despite the rejection from her, seeing her with other men still pissed him off.

Now, though, he had to find Ranma. He had to let him know it wasn't over yet.

* * *

Ranma stood in the same clearing where he had beat up Mousse only a few days ago. The ground was heavy with packed snow, and the trees creaked in the circle around him. His fingers clenched and unclenched as he waited. His bag, packed when he thought he was leaving Nerima, sat in the snow off to the side.

She would know to find him here. He knew now that she had been watching this whole time, watching everything. She knew to give Tofu the paper because she watched Ranma ask him for help. She knew Akane still needed a cure, because she watched Akane get hurt, time and time again. She would surely know what had happened at the Christmas party, because he was sure she had been watching then, too. And she was watching him now.

He couldn't afford to wait any longer. "Come out, Shampoo." He spat at the end of his sentence, her name leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

The wind came and shifted snow laden branches. He heard her speak behind him, and turned.

"Airen," she whispered. Her back was to a tree, and she had her hands behind her.

Ranma could barely stand to look at her. She looked distressed and saddened, but was otherwise normal Shampoo.

"How is it fair," he whispered, taking a few steps toward her, keeping his voice level, "that you stand here, healthy and whole, when Akane has been through hell and back the last few days?"

Shampoo said and did nothing, just watched him get closer.

"And as for me, I've had to break her heart. I tried to protect her. I couldn't." Ranma walked up to her, and his fingers wrapped around her neck. It wasn't enough to stop her from breathing, but it made her flinch from the pain. "I thought there was no other way to stop this. I thought it was my only option, to give her up. That's what _you_ told me."

He leaned in close, speaking through clenched teeth, finding it extremely difficult to remain calm, "And then I find out there was something else. Something else I could do. And you knew about it. You knew about it the whole time, and you let her be in pain, and you let _me_ be the cause of all the pain. When I could have stopped it."

Shampoo finally spoke. "I only try to—"

" _YOU LIED!"_ Ranma roared and threw a punch that cut a small crimson line into Shampoo's cheek as it swung just wide of her face. Instead his fist connected with the tree behind her and a loud _CRACK!_ resonated as a line formed down the middle of the tree threatening to split the tree in two. The branches trembled with the force of his anger and leaves and snow rained down around them.

A drop of blood blossomed from the cut and drew a line down her cheek and along her jaw, where it dripped from the tip of her chin onto the snow below. Shampoo ignored it.

"Now," he said dangerously, "you have one option to getting out of here alive. You tell me what it is I need to do to stop this curse. Right now."

Shampoo looked at him and anger suddenly crossed her face. She screamed at him, "You think this all Shampoo's fault?! Is Ranma's fault! Ranma never can decide who he loves, who he wants to be with! Shampoo make that decision for Ranma!"

"Shampoo!" Ranma shook her by her throat, tightening his grip. This time her hands went to his wrist, her eyes growing fearful. "You don't know how serious I'm being—"

"Oh," she scoffed, pulling his hand off her throat. "Shampoo know serious. _Shampoo_ serious. Is time for Ranma to make decision." Wrapping her arms around the tree behind her, Shampoo pushed her back against the tree, her feet connecting with Ranma's chest to push him back away from her. He flew back but landed on his feet in the snow with a small stumble.

"Original Amazon deal," she said, tears springing up in her eyes as she tried to maintain her anger. "Death to one of us. You kill Shampoo," she reached down into her shirt, and pulled a piece of folded paper out far enough for him to see it, before shoving it back down, "you get cure. You die, girl die."

Shampoo reached behind her and pulled out her pair of chuí, the round-ended hammers she carried with her into fights. She lifted one above her head, and extended the other one in front of her.

Shampoo had decided there was no hope for her and Ranma anymore. Her last chance was giving him this cure, to see if he would forgive her, would return to the normal Ranma who was tough on her but easily manipulated into enjoying her company. Akane meant so little to her, it was difficult for her to understand why anyone cared for the brute girl. But seeing Ranma's reaction today made it clear: they would be strangers forever, or one of them would have to die. She stared at the only man she had ever loved, and the only person she had ever hurt so badly. There was only one option: to return to the beginning, to when they first met. A fight to the death.

"Come," she choked out.

It was the only excuse he needed.

Ranma rushed at her, pushing one chuí out of his way, his fist headed straight for her face. Shampoo ducked and Ranma hit the tree hard enough to finish the split he had created – the tree was carved down the middle and both sides crashed to the ground like it had been chopped by a giant axe.

Shampoo swung one of her chuí and Ranma jumped, but it clipped his foot and sent him to the ground where he rolled onto his back. She lifted the other one high above her head, bringing it down toward Ranma. Ranma grabbed it in both his hands with a grunt, and used it as a lever to throw Shampoo up and over his head.

She went tumbling in the snow but recovered in time to see him rushing at her again. She made an 'x' with her chuí, and Ranma's kick hit the center of it. It sent her sliding backwards in the snow and a small crack appeared in one of the handles.

Screaming, Shampoo pushed him off, and swung at him again, but this time Ranma was the one who ducked, and as he straightened he brought his fist up to the underside of her chin. Her head was flung backwards and her body followed, but Shampoo was a natural gymnast and used her momentum to flip back onto her feet, using her chuí as a counter balance.

But as she looked up, Ranma's fist found the side of her skull. She went down, her sight swimming, and let out a fearful cry as she barely defended against a second hit. Her lip burst, and she tasted metallic spit. She threw one of her chuí at him, launching it at him, and while he caught it as it came toward him, the significant weight of it pushed past his hands into his chest, and he let out a wheeze as the air left his lungs with the impact. He threw it off to the side with a wince.

Shampoo pushed off from the ground and brought her second chuí up in an arc from the ground, trying to strike Ranma from a below hit. He bent his body backwards it just barely breezed by him. Still bent, he kicked out one of his feet, catching Shampoo off guard and sending her back to the ground. She held the chuí up above her, ready to defend herself, and gasped as Ranma kicked, sending the solid sphere on top rolling. He had broken it clean off, and the other chuí lay off to the side where she could not reach it.

Shampoo attempted to jab at Ranma with the broken wooden handle, but Ranma grabbed it easily, pulling her arm out straight. Then he placed his heel against her shoulder, and pushed as he pulled the handle. She let out a shout and was forced to release the remains of her chuí or risk her arm being dislocated.

Ranma kept the pressure on the now sore joint, twisting his heel to illicit another cry. As she lashed out with her other arm he grabbed that one as well, and kneeled on top of her chest, driving his knee into the soft spot under her sternum. She tried to cry out again, but she only had enough lung capacity to gasp.

"The cure, Shampoo," he said harshly. The first cut he had given her started bleeding profusely as her blood pressure and adrenaline had increased, and had made small rivers of blood across the right side of her face. Her burst lip was just starting to clot. The other side of her face was growing a nasty, discolored bruise from where he'd struck her. He could feel a similar one forming on his chest.

Shampoo was struggling to breathe under him, but he refused to let up any pressure. The longer she stayed out of breath, the easier it was to keep her pinned. With her arm that he was still stepping on, Shampoo bent at the elbow and just managed to reach the piece of paper. She pulled it out, and Ranma, with his free hand, took it from her, and flipped it open.

He started reading it – it was a translation she had done of the previous piece of paper – as she wheezed under him, "Is long shot... Is Chinese fable... May not even exist but," she coughed, her discomfort growing, "said to have worked before..."

Ranma looked at the paper long and hard, unsure whether or not to grow hopeful. This _was_ a long shot. He folded it back up carefully. Then, with a last look of distain he stood up, and started to walk away.

Shampoo exclaimed and grabbed his arm. "No, Ranma!"

Ranma wrenched his arm around, staring at her, pitiless. "Never talk to me again. Never touch me again. Leave."

"No!" Shampoo screamed again, grabbing him, shuffling onto her knees.

"What?!" Ranma pulled away again, turning back to face her. "What do you think you could say to fix—"

"Kill," Shampoo said, her resolve clear. "Kill Shampoo. Is Amazon law."

 _Kill her?_ Ranma looked down at her, kneeling in the snow, asking for death.

He certainly wanted to. She had almost killed Akane several times, and the whole reason she was here in Japan was to either kill Ranma or marry him. Death and destruction followed the girl everywhere she went, and it had felt like ages since he had last had any true affection for her.

But looking at her, her face bleeding, her will to live gone, Ranma knew he couldn't kill her. But he still wanted to hurt her.

"No, Shampoo," he said slowly. "I won't kill you." She looked up at him sharply, already trying to argue, but he silenced her.

"I want you to live, in disgrace. I want you to live knowing the man you love will never love you back, and the person who can set you free in death will never kill you. If you come back here, ever, I will defeat you, over and over again, but I will _never_ give you the freedom or the love you seek." Ranma leaned forward, hissing at her, "You will live in disgrace from your tribe, your family, for the rest of your long, long life. Now leave, and never come back."

But it was Ranma who walked away first, his backpack in hand, armed with a small piece of paper that gave him a faint glimmer of hope for his own future.

* * *

He was halfway back to Tofu's clinic when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. He realized with a start that it was Ryoga, waving him down, looking panicked.

He cursed, and quickly jumped down off the roof he was on to land in front of Ryoga, his bag of belongings thumping against his back.

"What happened to her? Is she still – okay?" He had been about to ask 'is she alive?' and the thought that that was a reasonable question chilled him.

"She's fine," Ryoga said quickly, then added as an afterthought. "No thanks to you." Ryoga jabbed Ranma in the chest with a finger, and was surprised as Ranma dropped like a stone into a squat and hugged himself.

"What the- ?!" Ryoga stared at him, and Ranma looked up with tears in his eyes.

"Boo hoo," he sobbed, and lifted his shirt to show the perfectly circular bruise on his chest from Shampoo's chuí. A bruise that Ryoga had just prodded with his superhuman strength.

Ryoga looked shocked, first at Ranma's chest, then at his finger. "Did I really do that? With just a poke—"

"You idiot, of course not!" Ranma punched him in the shin, and made Ryoga fall to the ground with a sharp cry.

Both teenager boys looked reproachfully at each other, tears in their eyes, trying to be brave despite the pain.

"Why did you do that?" Ryoga snapped.

"What did you call me down here for?" Ranma snapped back.

Ryoga glared at him, wondering if he shouldn't tell him because he was being a whiny jerk, but decided that since it involved Akane he had no choice. He sighed.

"Akane's still in love with you. It didn't work. She had another one of those... visions, or whatever." Ryoga shook his head, looking at his knee as he spoke. "You need to go back and be a bigger asshole, really stick it home, because if after last night she can still—"

"She still loves me?"

Ranma's voice was strange, and it made Ryoga look up. His pleased expression pissed Ryoga off. "You ass, the point is she isn't _supposed_ to love you, even if it makes you feel good about yourself. There's nothing you can do anymore!"

"That's not true." Ranma pulled out the piece of paper he had gotten from Shampoo, and handed it to Ryoga. Ryoga took it, opening it hesitantly.

"See," he started to explain while Ryoga read, "it talks about this thing, and if I can find it, and Akane and I use it, it says it's worked before. It's the only known time in history that the curse failed." He stood up, glancing around them, as if the object he needed would be laying right there near them. "The curse ends tonight at midnight, so I only have a few more hours left to find it. It hasn't been seen in hundreds of years, but it was last known to be in Japan—"

"I know where it is," Ryoga said quietly.

Ranma's heart stopped in his chest. He whipped around, and grabbed Ryoga by the shoulders, pulling him up into a standing position. "You do?! Hah!" He let out a laugh, his first one in days, and shook Ryoga slightly. "That's perfect! Oh, man, you're a real pal!" He patted him on the shoulder. "Well, go on, where is it? Tell me!"

"No."

Ranma laughed again. "Good joke. Yeah go on, tell me."

" _No_ ," Ryoga repeated, more forcefully this time.

Ranma gripped Ryoga's shoulders tightly. "And. Why. Not?"

Ryoga shimmied out of Ranma's grasp, pulling away. "Because this," he pointed at the paper, "requires that you tell her how you feel. And you can't do that."

"What the hell Ryoga!" Ranma swore. "Why do you doubt me so much?"

"Well then," Ryoga smirked, crossing his arms. "Say it now."

"What?"

"Say it. Tell me how you feel about Akane. Tell me the _truth_ and make sure its believable."

Ranma's jaw fell open, and he felt a faint heat rise in his cheeks. "Tell you- right now? Wha! Hah! What? We don't, no," Ranma shook his head, reaching for the paper. "We don't have time for this right now Ryoga, there's only a few more hours left until the curse runs out, it's already starting to get dark—"

Ryoga pulled the paper away. "Then you better hurry up and say how you feel. Listen Ranma," he leaned forward, "if you can't even say it to me, how the hell are you going to say it to her?"

Ranma scoffed. "If anythin' it'll be easier to say it to her, instead of you!"

"Do you really believe that?" Ryoga stared until Ranma looked away. "How many time was I able to say how I felt about her in front of you, and you saw how much courage it took me to say it to her." Ranma blew out a puff of air in frustration. "Now, say it."

Ranma scoffed. Ranma shook his head. Ranma kicked at the ground. Ranma threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! Fine. _Fine._ "

Ryoga stood with his arms crossed, waiting.

"I..." Ranma swallowed, and scratched his cheek. "I... Well, I... I guess... No, I know… I..." He took a deep breath. "I... love her. There!" He threw his arms up again.

Ryoga tsked, and held the paper up. He started to rip it in half as Ranma screeched and jumped at it. Ryoga fended him off, and held the paper away. "Say it like you mean it!"

"I do mean it! I said what you wanted me to! Now give me that paper-"

"Don't say what I want you to, say how you feel-"

"-and tell me where the find the damn thing-"

"-or else Akane won't believe you either-"

"-and stop messing around-"

"-and this won't even work unless she believes you, and if you can't convince me-"

"GOD DAMN IT. FINE." Ranma grabbed Ryoga by the shoulders again, shaking him. "Ya want me to convince you? Ya want me to tell you how I feel about her? Ya want me to tell you that I love her? That I think about her all the time? That she's the only person who can make me feel weak? That I seek her approval over everyone else's? And that sometimes, when she looks at me, I feel like I can do anything? Anything at all? And I would, if it would make her happy? Ya don't- you don't believe me when I say that I love her? What about when I tell you that I would _die_ for her? And that if I don't get to have her for the rest of my life, if this curse wins and I never get to love her the way I want to, that that would be a fate worse than death? So, yeah, I'm sorry if you feel I've been selfish throughout this curse, trying to make it work, but I can't live without her anymore and I while I would do _anything_ to save her, I would do _even more than anything_ to save her _and_ have her still love me back! Is that what ya want to hear? Is that it?!"

Ryoga stared at Ranma as he fought to catch his breath. Slowly, the silence dragged on, and Ranma let Ryoga go, uncomfortable. "Well," he said awkwardly, "say something."

"Jeeze," Ryoga said, his cheeks turning pink. "That was intense. Omg, you're so gay." He put his hands on his cheeks and looked away from Ranma in embarrassment, blushing.

"Oh shut the fuck up," Ranma cursed, whacking him across the face. "That's what you asked for!" Ranma was red too, his heart thumping painfully. Lately, thinking about Akane had been difficult. He felt like he no longer deserved her, but not having her was just making his desire for her greater. So, yeah, his feelings right now were a little intense.

Ryoga laughed, holding out the paper. "Okay well, when you tell her all that, try not to shout it at her."

Ranma ripped it out of his hands, stashing it away quickly. "Anyway, tell me where we find this thing so I can hurry back to Akane."

"Well," Ryoga said slowly, "here's the funny thing about it..."

Ranma leaned in as Ryoga gestured him forward, describing where to find the object he so desperately needed.

* * *

She had carefully and slowly unwrapped the wrapping paper. The bow lay off to the side, removed first. The box in front of her sat empty and expectant, cardboard flaps stuck somewhere between open and closed. In front of her, the present sat exposed.

For the hundredth time, Akane picked up the tag. 'To Ranma, Love Akane.'

It was a candle. A small, relatively ugly candle. It was brown, and dusty, and the wick was off center. It was old, with thin spider web cracks decorating its surface. But it had only been lit half a dozen times, despite its age. That was, if the legend surrounding it was to be believed.

The wizened shop keeper in the mystic store off one of the main streets downtown had sold it to her. She bought in a flurry of self-doubt after hearing the legend of it. Excited that maybe it was true, embarrassed as to what Ranma would make of it. 'Love Akane.' She scoffed.

Next to the candle was a yellowed piece of paper, a symbol of fire in the corner with a Chinese character embossed on it. It still had the original Chinese legend printed on it, but below in faded ink, someone had translated the myth into Japanese.

The candle, legend said, was created to prove love was truth. It was said that if two people confessed their feelings over it, and they were true, the candle would light, and the people would be bound together for all eternity. _Why would two people in love need a candle to prove it?_ Akane had wondered when the shop keep told her and Ryoga about it during their shopping trip. But when she thought about it, she figured – what a good way to make sure Ranma knew how she felt, and she knew how he felt! At the very worst, she would find out he didn't love her and she could move on.

Of course, she dreaded the idea of that happening, but it had been a risk she was willing to take when she bought the damn thing.

Now that he had made his feelings clear though, it was clear that she was not prepared for it. She just assumed they after everything they had been together, surely... Akane shook her head.

 _Best not to dwell,_ she thought sourly. She picked up the candle and stared at it. She twirled it in the air with her wrist, like a sommelier twirling a glass of wine.

"Such a little thing," she mumbled. With potentially so much power.

She glanced outside the window; the sun had just set, and darkness was settling in over Nerima.

Shinnosuke had been so understanding today, when Akane had cried in his arms for a better part of the afternoon. He asked for no explanation, and demanded no answers. To help her calm down he told her stories of Ryugenzawa. And when she was ready, he made a few jokes to help her laugh. He had held her, and comforted her, and demanded nothing in return.

And he was leaving tonight.

Akane was watching the candle. She had already tried to light it with regular matches, but nothing seemed to work. That alone made her suspicious that maybe there was more to the myth than she thought.

She was tired of everything. She was tired of being unsure about her standing with the person she loved. She was tired of fighting, and defending, and getting angry, and having no power to change anything.

 _Well,_ she thought bitterly, _if Ranma can move on, so can I._

She stood up, grabbing the candle in her hand.

* * *

 **Author's Note 4/25/17:** HEY sorry it took longer than I promised! I'm at your mercies. I had some family stuff that messed me up a lil bit, but it's cool, we're back on track, and the next chapter will be up soon! I made a few changes on this chapter based on reviews (did a lot more explaining for Nabiki's motives, for example), I also made it more light-hearted to break up the weepy bits, and I need to make a few more edits for the last chapter buuuut holy crap we're almost done.

Also, I know people were furious at Shampoo, so I hope this was a suitable ending for her and a suitable punishment. I was kind of urging Ranma, 'kill her, do it!' but I was like 'hmm what would be worse than death for Shampoo?' and figured this would pretty much make sure the rest of her life sucks and she's miserable. [Out of laziness] I didn't really want to write anything too much from her perspective, but if I see some concerns and 'that's not good enough!' I'll add in a bit from her perspective explaining her thinking.

And THANK YOU to the reviews, reading your concerns and 'why didn't this happen?' helps me remember to tie up loose ends or explain motive. I'm pretty bad at that. So when the next chapter comes out and if anyone finds continuity issues or loose ends, please mention it and I'll make the appropriate edits to tie everything up nicely. Also, if anyone can think of a better title for this chapter, please share. I'm awful at titles.

Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Light a Love to Burn a Curse

**Author's Note 8/17/17:** I have no excuse for taking so long getting this last, final chapter up. I'm so sorry to everyone who has messaged me and I neglected to get back to, and to everyone whose hearts I hurt by taking so long! I have no excuse, I have reasons that it took so long, but they're not excuses. I sincerely hope you can all forgive me, and that this final 15,000+ word chapter (which I poured myself into to perfect) soothes the pain and makes it all worth it. Please enjoy the finale!

* * *

 **Close to Death  
** AliasAlien  
August 2017

 **Chapter 10: Light a Love to Burn a Curse**

Ranma's body ached with the effort of running.

Nights of bad sleep and days of overwhelming stress had taken their toll on the martial artist, and were exacerbated further by the beatings over the last few days. While it wasn't unusual for Ranma to be sore and bruised, the normally laid-back boy was feeling the additional damaging effects of constant worry and stress on his mind and muscles. But he had no time to focus on the burning of his legs and sore joints. The sun was setting behind him as he ran, the growing darkness reminding him of the little time he had left.

 _Of all the things, a candle?_ he thought bitterly, skimming over a peaked roof. _A candle she already has in her room?_ It was distressing to realize the cure had been sitting innocuously inside a Christmas present for the last few days. Intense fury rose up in him when he thought of all the painful events that could have been avoided had they known the cure sooner. Damn Shampoo!

 _Why would Akane get me something like that in the first place?_ Ranma bit his lip until he felt pain. _How can she be so hopeful... after everything I've done... after all the things I've said?_ Not to mention all the things he **hadn't** said. _For God's sake, Akane,_ he prayed desperately, _please still have it. Please wait for me._ He was only about five minutes away now, and despite the cold burning his overworked lungs, he refused to slow down.

But as he leapt toward the next rooftop between a pair of houses that would shave some time off his sprint home, something wound around his ankle and tightened, pulling him down.

"What the—?!"

Ranma barely had the reach he needed to grab the shingling of the second roof, and it was only by the strength of his fingers that he scrambled safely over the edge. Cursing, he looked down at his feet and saw a jet-black ribbon wound around his ankle. Dread filled him as he recognized it, and with a muttered curse his fingers began to attempt to tear it off. Suddenly, a laugh filled the night air.

"OH HOH HOH HOH," Kodachi Kuno slid down from her perch on a roof above him, and landed gracefully next to the hunched over Ranma. She was barely visible in the growing night, clothed from the neck down in a black wedding dress, but her maniacal laugh gave her identity away immediately.

"Kodachi—" Black rose petals drifted down around him, and with one sniff Ranma slammed a hand against his nose and mouth. _Paralysis powder!_ It was a scent that often accompanied the teenage girl, and one that he was regrettably familiar with. He tore at the ribbon with his other hand, his body quickly begging for oxygen. He knew better than to risk another breath however – the first had already sent a numb feeling down his arms and into his fingers, adding another level of difficulty to removing the gymnastic ribbon from his ankle.

"Oh hoh hoh, just breathe in deeply the scent of our love, Ranma dear!" Kodachi cackled. More black roses were wound together into a bouquet in her hands. Her characteristic side ponytail swung as she laughed, the back of her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "I know you wanted to keep it a surprise, but I've heard the news and I'm here for you! Now we won't have that little _nuisance_ of a girl between us anymore! We will be free," Kodachi blushed happily, "to complete our union." Her eyes glinted dangerously. _"At last."_

 _What shit timing._ Kodachi was as unrelenting as she was ruthless. She was a qualified gymnast and martial artist, but regardless Ranma had never really had a full, anything-goes battle with her. Normally he avoided her weapon-based attacks or used his charm to get what he needed from her (usually whatever piece of blackmail she had on him at the moment), but tonight he was in too much of a rush to wait out a battle of wits with the raven-haired girl.

Finally, the ribbon ripped away beneath his fingers and he was released. Ranma leapt up and away from the petals and the crazy love-struck teenage girl who was keeping her own distance from the gas they exuded. "You're crazy!" Ranma screamed at her, once he caught his breath. "I don't have time for this!"

"Crazy in love, I admit! But you're speaking nonsense dear Ranma," Kodachi cooed, pulling out another ribbon wand from inside her bouquet. "We have plenty of time – the rest of our lives, in fact." As she lashed out with the ribbon, Ranma held his hands up defensively in front of his face, catching the very end of the ribbon in his fist. He wound it around his hand quickly, gripping it tightly so that she couldn't wrench it away. While this would tie up one of his hands for fending her off, it kept her from utilizing one more weapon. _She probably has plenty more,_ Ranma realized bitterly.

"I'm serious Kodachi," Ranma snarled, "I don't have the time – or the patience – for you right now." He pulled on the ribbon, trying to wrench it from her hands. Kodachi just skipped a half step forward instead. "Besides, how did you hear anythin' about me and Akane?!" As he asked it, he glanced to the side, planning a getaway as soon as he could.

"SAOTOME!"

The loud cry rang out from behind him. Ranma turned with a start, keeping one eye on Kodachi. "Oh, ya gotta be kidding me...!"

"Do not flatter yourself Saotome," Tatewaki Kuno growled, stepping forward into a shaft of light cast by a newly lit streetlamp. "That would require me telling you a joke. I do not 'kid' with the likes of you."

"Kuno, get the hell out of here," Ranma snapped, tugging on Kodachi's ribbon again as she giggled and hopped forward another step.

"Oh, I don't plan on staying," Kuno raised an eyebrow, his expression smug. "I actually came to thank you." Kuno laughed as Ranma frowned. "There is never a more perfect time to woo a woman than when her heart is broken and vulnerable. Now is the moment where I swoop in and take the poor girl into my arms. The sweet and supple Akane will now be mine, thanks to your carelessness." Kuno winked, waving with one hand. "Enjoy your new life with my sister. She will... keep you occupied for a good while, I am sure."

Ranma growled, "Don't you dare go near her!" but Kuno had already turned his back and was gone over the edge of the rooftop. "Shit," Ranma swore, turning more to go after him, forgetting about Kodachi. Kodachi, however, did not forget about him.

A second ribbon snaked around his legs like it was alive, expertly winding around his ankles and then tightening with a tug to make him fall over onto his side. Kodachi laughed again, and Ranma paused. He sighed, tilting his head back into the roof with a grunt and closing his eyes momentarily in exhaustion.

 _Great._ He took a deep breath. _It's never easy, is it?_

"Akane," he whispered to himself, opening his eyes, pushing himself up, "wait just a little more."

* * *

The second hand of the clock was the only thing in her room that moved. It continued monotonously – tik, tok, tik, tok – each second pointing out her feckless attempts to move and reminding her of her cowardice to let go of the boy who had still held her heart.

A frustrated sigh finally escaped her and momentarily eclipsed the sounds of the clock. How long had she been trying to convince herself to open her door?

Akane stood in the middle of her room, her feet planted unnaturally far apart. She had spent at least the last 20 minutes trying to coax her feet to move forward. She groaned aloud in frustration, staring at the candle in her hand. _Just go. Go to him._ Shinnosuke. She gradually noticed her hands were shaking.

 _...I can't do it,_ she realized in frustration. Akane tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, pushing air out of pursed lips. _That stupid, stupid, stupid boy!_ Why was she still letting Ranma hold her back? He certainly wasn't thinking of her – his thoughts were likely preoccupied with Ukyo.

Akane looked forward again, stamping her feet in motivation. _Go, go do it. Shinnosuke is a great person. And much nicer than a certain pig-tailed moron._ Akane lifted her shoulders and dropped them again. _I can do this._ She just needed to go to his room, knock on the door, and ask him to use the candle with her. It would be quick, painless, and she wouldn't need or think about Ranma ever again. Which is all she wanted at this moment.

Still, her feet wouldn't move.

"Arrrggggh," Akane stifled a scream into a fist, staring the candle down like it was an enemy on a battlefield. "Who am I kidding?" she sighed aloud, second guessing her plan. _I can't do this, not to Shinnosuke, and not to myself._ What if the candle really did work and they would be together forever? Was she prepared to make someone love her? Was that even how it worked? No, he needed to already love her…

 _But he does love me, I know that, he said so himself, before._ Akane looked at the candle with gentler eyes, softening at the thought of someone loving her like he did. It was very tempting. "But is making him do this – this stupid superstition, am I forcing him to do something he doesn't want to?" _He can always say no._ "Shinnosuke's too polite to decline if I ask him though..." _Well, he'd still be making the decision for himself._

"Great," Akane said sarcastically, "now I'm talking to myself. Just, great. Just perfect." She was a mess. She realized that Ranma's abandonment had left her more rattled than she cared to admit to herself but her body couldn't lie – she felt sick to her stomach all the time, her limbs felt numb and disconnected from her body, and the world had felt a little darker and colder since he left.

" _It's true... I never agreed to anything."_

Akane didn't think she wouldn't ever forget those words. The way he said them. The wind that blew across her and froze her heart in her chest. His face as he dismissed everything they had built together. It had been a messy love, one woven together with anger and misunderstandings, but it had always survived the doubts and challenges it had faced before. And it had been _theirs_. Their own kind of love.

And she was already thinking about it in the past tense.

Akane took three quick steps forward, and grasped the door handle tightly. She paused. The clock once more became the only sound in the room. Her knuckles started to turn white, but she wasn't able to open the door. Finally, she released it.

Swiping a sleeve across her wet eyes, Akane shook her head. This was no way to move on, to forget about him. To drag Shinnosuke in when she was at her worst, it was cruel. And Akane has faced too much cruelty recently to be able to enact it on someone else.

Akane was just about to turn away from the door and throw the candle in the trash, when she heard a commotion downstairs. Voices rose and fell, and a maniacal laugh broke out. "AKANEEEEEE!"

 _Was that..._ "Kuno?" Her door clicked open as Akane peeked out of her door, her head going into the hallway to hear better.

"Akane, my love, it is I, here to sweep you off your feet!" It was definitely Kuno. His voice was floating up from downstairs, loud and obnoxious, but also strained like he was struggling against something, his voice clipping with the effort of shouting. "I'm – I'm coming, as soon as this is out of my way-" She heard the clear sounds of furniture being knocked aside. The rented tables and chairs for the party had been stacked in one of the rooms downstairs, and Kuno had obviously taken the wrong entrance into the house.

"A-Akane," he continued shouting, "I've heard of your heartbreak, and I am here – your beloved – to help you, ugh, heal!"

"What is the meaning of this?" This voice belonged to Shinnosuke. He sounded confused but also angry. "Who are you?"

"I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furikan High, here to claim fair Akane's broken heart and heal it back together! Who are _you?_ "

"I'm Shinnos-"

"I do not care. Move!"

There was the sound of a scuffle, the screeching of a chair, a yelped 'unhand me!' and a shout of 'no you don't!', and then a disheveled Kuno was at the bottom of the stairs, jumping two at a time toward Akane's room. Fast on his heels was Shinnosuke, looking equally out of sorts, pulling a lampshade off his head - Kuno had played dirty.

"Akaneeee!" he screamed, running and leaping toward her door, his arms outstretched.

Akane shrieked, and slammed her door shut just as Kuno came into the doorway. She heard the crash as his body collided with the solid wooden door, and the following thud as he landed on the floor.

"A-Akane," he slurred, "my dear, you accidentally locked me _outside_." She heard a huff of air and shuffling, and next thing she knew he was trying the doorknob, and banging on her door.

"Let me in! Akane, now is our chance at love now that the cad Saotome is gone!"

She heard the lock snap, and the door started to fly open, giving Akane no other choice than to throw herself against it with another shout. "No!" She screamed. "Kuno, go away!"

"Do – not – be – shy – my – love!" Each word was punctuated with an effort to body slam her door down. Fortunately, Akane had her back to the door and had planted her feet solidly, and now she was like a brick wall with her brute strength. _'Brute'... Guess Ranma was right when he called me that._ Right now, she couldn't complain about her lack of traditional feminine qualities, as her powerful muscles were the only thing keeping the door shut.

"Get away from Akane," she heard Shinnosuke yelling, and momentarily the door stopped shaking on its hinges as Kuno and Shinnosuke grappled. She heard their grunts of effort, and Shinnosuke yelling in confusion, "Who are you?" and Kuno yelling back, "Swine, I already told you!"

A thud, and then the knocking returned, and this time it was Shinnosuke who yelled through to her, "Akane, open the door! I'll come inside and help you hold him off!"

Suddenly, there were two sets of fists banging on her door. "Yes, open the door my love so that I may embrace you and set this fool straight!"

"Don't be afraid, I'll keep you safe!"

"No, _I_ will keep you safe!"

"Augh!" Akane yelled, "Both of you – go away!" But her voice was drowned out by their arguing, and the banging of the door in the door frame. Akane was quickly losing strength. The effort of both boys trying to break in was becoming too much to hold for much longer. Her right foot started to slip, sliding along the carpet, and she cursed. Her back was starting to really ache.

 _Goddamn Ranma,_ she thought bitterly but also with a stab of pain, _if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be stuck in this situation. Stupid, stupid, stupid reckless Ranma! And now, when I actually might need you, you're gone!_

A gust of wind blew across her face, a cold slap to her cheeks. She looked up in confusion, sure she had latched her window closed, and her breath caught in her throat.

For a moment she wasn't sure if it really was him. After all, just earlier this afternoon she had seen him in her window like this. Was he here to sweep her off her feet and push her off the roof again? But the pain of the door digging into her back rooted her to reality, and she felt her stomach flip as she realized it was really him. It was Ranma, crouched and framed by the windowsill, the light spilling out of her room illuminating his confused and worried expression. His breath came in short puffs of clouds as he caught his breath and spoke.

"Akane."

Akane closed her mouth once she realized it had fallen open. Ranma was supposed to be gone forever. He had left a note promising just that last night. He was supposed to be done with her, not here looking guilty and ashamed, his fingers on the clasp to her window.

He wasn't supposed to be saying her name anymore.

A wave of sorrow rose up in her chest, and Akane looked away from him, her expression darkening. "What do you want? Did you forget something when you left?"

Ranma swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. _You_ , was the first thought that came to mind, but he pushed it down. He would have to go about this conversation more delicately than normal, considering what their last interaction had been. Her feelings were bound to be hurt after that exchange, where he told her he didn't want to be her fiancé anymore. He would have to tread lightly.

Ranma grimaced, wishing he had more time to explain. But as it was, he had barely fended off Kodachi and she was only a few minutes behind him. He had eventually gotten the best of her and tied her up with one of her own ribbons – something she playfully cooed at him as being foreplay she could get behind – before tossing her off somewhere in the dark and coming straight here. It wouldn't take long for her to unbind herself, and even less to figure out where he had gone.

"Uh, no, I," he cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to figure out what to say. It was only then he processed the scene in front of him: Akane, her back against the bedroom door, both arms flung out to the side, feet sliding on the carpet, and outside Kuno and Shinnosuke yelling and pounding on her door.

Ranma paused, then slid all the way into the room hesitantly. So Kuno had beat him here. "What, uh, what's going on? Do you need any help?"

"If I did," Akane struggled to speak out between her teeth more from emotion than the physical effort, "it wouldn't be from _you._ Don't you have - fiancées to check up on?" Her cheeks burned as she stumbled over the word, having almost said 'other fiancées' before she remembered she was technically no longer promised to him in any way.

"No, actually," Ranma said quietly. Akane finally looked up at him. He cleared his throat, opening his mouth slowly, looking for how to begin, when his eyes fell on her right hand. It was there, clenched between her fingers – Akane had even forgotten she was holding it.

"Is that it?" he asked, his voice low, his eyes trained on the candle. He took a step closer. "Is that the...?"

Akane glanced at her hand and cried out in embarrassment. _He can't see this! He can't know this was going to be for him!_ Without thinking, Akane curled her arms in protectively, holding it to her chest. "No – don't look at it—"

The door gave a shuttering heave which sent Akane stumbling forward a few steps. She slammed herself hard back against it as Ranma moved forward quickly, placing the palms of his hands on the door above her head, halfway sandwiching her up against him. Their combined weight pushed the two bodies of Kuno and Shinnosuke back into the hallway with a thump and a few murmured curse words from the hall. Within seconds they were back at the door, arguing, but with Ranma's new weight added against the door the combined fists on the other side did not have as much of an effect, and the thumps grew quieter in the room.

Akane glanced up, realizing how close Ranma was to her, and shrunk away from him. She wanted to hide, but as the door rocked dangerously she was forced to straighten and throw an arm out to steady it. However, she still clutched the candle to her chest with one hand. _Damnit._ She was trapped, practically up against Ranma's chest. _The last person I want to be stuck with right now..._

Ranma was still staring at the candle, his mind working fast. She still had it. There was still a chance! It took everything he had to keep from grinning and grabbing her and spinning her around. Luckily his arms were preoccupied and kept him focused.

"D-Don't look at," Akane mumbled, trying to hide it in her hand. "It's nothing, it's not important, it's stupid—"

"It's perfect," Ranma replied.

Akane looked up at him in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?" Her face reddened. "Do you know what this is?!" By the look that crossed his face, she figured he must know exactly what it was. _Oh, god,_ she was so embarrassed. "How?!"

"Errr," Ranma had the decency to look embarrassed himself. "Listen, uh, there's something... Something that you need to know. It's about… what's been going on, lately. With you. And, uh, I guess with me too? It's... just a lot. A lot to say. And a lot that... that you need to know." Ranma looked at her, his face painfully twisted as he searched for the words. "Y'know?"

Akane stared blankly at him. "What the hell are you trying to say, Ranma?"

 _Well_ , _this is going just swell,_ Ranma thought sarcastically.

"Ranma?!" Kuno shrieked hearing his name, "Is that scoundrel in there with you?! I won't allow it!"

"Is Ranma in there with you, Akane?" Shinnosuke sounded concerned, and perhaps even angry. "Akane, let me in!"

The pounding on the door increased, and both Ranma and Akane yelped, repositioning their feet for a better hold. _Crap,_ Ranma thought, glancing around the room. _I can't tell her like this..._

"What were you saying?" Akane asked warily and expectantly.

"Uh," Ranma cleared his throat again. "Listen, there's a lot we need to talk about, and I don't think this is the best place to discuss it. Especially since I left Kodachi, she's coming too and –"

"Oh, honestly," Akane snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you, Ranma!" Akane struck him in the chest with the fist holding the candle. "Kodachi?! What, Ukyo wasn't enough for you? Now you're here to brag to me about another girl as well? Just trying to shove all these girls in my face?! I can't understand you!"

"Wha—Akane—" Ranma tried to interrupt her tirade, the door swaying dangerously again as Akane got distracted. He leaned against it more heavily, digging his shoes into the floor. "Come on – Kodachi? You know me better than that!"

"I don't know you at all, Ranma!" Akane shouted, tears springing up at the corners of her eyes. "Get out of here! Go away! I told you I never want to see you again and I meant it!"

"Well I didn't mean it!" Ranma snapped, and Akane fell silent. He sighed, seeing that they weren't going to get anywhere unless he told her something. "Look, will you –" _shut up?! No, be more gentle,_ "let me explain a li'l?"

Akane just nodded slowly, her eyes untrusting, but her mouth closed.

He sighed, grateful to finally have her attention, but starting to worry about what to do with it. _It's finally time to tell the truth. I owe her that._ "Okay," he started with a deep breath. "Do you remember, back at school, when you almost jumped off the roof?"

Akane nodded again, growing suspicious. The door continued to thump behind her, but all she was focused on was Ranma's voice.

"Well, you said afterwards, that you were worried you were going crazy. And, uh, then the night that you almost froze," he swallowed hard, remembering his fear that night, "Shampoo came by. And she said... some pretty confusing things, about you. And it all started making sense. And I made her tell me the truth. And..." Ranma paused, letting the banging of fists and bodies on the door fill the silence.

"Ranma…?" Akane asked quietly, her eyes searching his face, frowning slightly. "What are you saying?"

"I was trying to protect you. But I should have told you sooner. I should've told you right away. I'm..." He looked down at his feet, growing nervous. Now he was rambling. _Crap._ "I'm sorry."

"Ranma!" Akane's warning tone made him look at her in confusion, his eyebrows coming together as he realized she wasn't looking at him, but past him.

"Sorry to interrupt," a voice said silkily from the window. "But I believe it's over between you two, and I've come for my man."

 _Kodachi!_ Ranma looked over his shoulder as Kodachi, still in the black wedding dress, sprang from the windowsill, spreading her arms out wide, weapons at the ready.

Ranma thought fast. "We're leaving," he grunted, and suddenly seized Akane by the waist, turning on his heel to the side with her as his other hand threw open the door.

Kodachi acted like a human bowling ball, diving through the door and hurtling into a surprised Kuno. The brother and sister toppled into the hallway with a chorus of shouts and confusion. Shinnosuke was farther off to the side and managed to avoid the hurtling girl. Instead he jumped over them and into the room, quickly spotting Ranma and Akane.

"Akane," Shinnosuke said gently, his eyes growing hard. He was watching Ranma, and quickly noticed the arm he had holding Akane to him. "Come here," he held out a hand to her. "I'll protect you."

Akane muttered something weakly, but Ranma glared at him. "Don't come near her," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "She's mine, and I'll be the one keeping her safe from now on."

In a quick movement, Ranma turned and pulled Akane even tighter against him, mumbling, "Hang on tight." His eyes caught sight of her jacket on the bed. He scooped it up as he moved forward and, ignoring Shinnosuke's shouts as he figured out what was happening, quickly jumped out the window, a gasping Akane at his side.

* * *

Nabiki frowned.

She watched Tatewaki and Kodachi struggle to get their footing, arguing. Nabiki shook her head. "Well, so much for my last-ditch effort," she mumbled to herself. She should have known better than to place any trust in the dysfunctional siblings.

She had called the Kuno siblings only a short time ago, and sold the information about Ranma and Akane's break up to the rich pair. While they had come through in cash, it looked like her hopes of them being enough of a distraction to keep Ranma and Akane away from each other had been dashed as they collapsed in the hallway of the Tendo house. Still, they were tenacious – she watched from her bedroom across the hall as they disappeared behind Shinnosuke into the night after Ranma and Akane.

Nabiki sighed, crossing her arms as she walked across the hall. She stood in Akane's doorway, glancing around her room. Wood splinters from her door were scattered around the entrance, and an opened Christmas present box was squashed and kicked onto the floor. Nabiki walked over to it, picking up the label.

"'To Ranma, Love Akane', huh?" Nabiki chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "You bastard." She looked at the open window, breathing in the night air. "You better feel the same way," Nabiki said quietly to herself, "or I'll make your life hell."

Slowly, she crossed the room and leaned against the windowsill, looking out at Nerima at night, hearing the distant cries the Kuno siblings disappear into the night. She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Good luck, my idiot sister. And come back alive." She paused. "And happy."

* * *

The cold air froze ice on Akane's hair as they ran, Ranma leading her away from her house, shouts following them in the night. He had given her enough time to get her footing on the frost covered roof, pull her jacket on and stash the candle in a pocket, before he grabbed her hand with an apology and started pulling her in a sprint through the night. He still had his backpack on, bumping on his back as they ran.

"Ranma, tell me what's going on!" Akane demanded after several minutes of nonstop running and jumping through town from roof to roof.

"Can we, y'know, get to a better spot first?" Ranma mumbled distractedly.

"No." Akane planted her feet, making Ranma stumble backwards as he was forced to a sudden stop.

"Hey!" Ranma said, gesturing behind them. "Don't you realize we kind of have to keep going? They're right behind us!"

He was right. They could hear the voices of Kuno and Kodachi overlapping in manic promises of love, and Shinnosuke calling out Akane's name.

Akane crossed her arms. "Then you better explain quick."

Ranma stared at her, his mouth falling open. "What? No, we have to go—"

"Ranma!" Akane yelled, her frustration finally overflowing. "You may know what the hell is going on, but I don't! The last thing I know you're breaking off our engagement, and leaving with Ukyo, and then you write this note and you say you're leaving Japan, then you come back, and now you're talking about something with Shampoo, and I'm just-" Akane threw up her hands, groaning with frustration, "-tired. I'm so tired of it all." She sighed, her face pleading with him. " _Please._ I need to know what's going on. No more avoiding me. No more secrets."

Ranma ran a hand through his bangs, holding them up off his forehead, staring at her. He watched her silently, and Akane shuffled her feet, listening to the sounds of their pursuers getting closer. Maybe she really _should_ have waited until they were alone, and not being chased by crazy people. Finally, Ranma sighed and stepped forward, grasping her shoulders with his hands. "Okay. _Okay._ I get it. You're right." He glanced in the direction where the voices were coming from. _We'll just deal with them when they come._

Akane smiled weakly, grateful. "Thank you. Now tell me what the hell you did."

Ranma couldn't help but grin back at her small jab. At least she wasn't defeated yet – she still had some of her spunk. "What makes you think I did anything? Well," he paused, "maybe indirectly. Yeah, definitely indirectly." Akane raised an eyebrow, and he felt his grin grow, then slowly fade as he considered his next words. "It was what it always was: someone hurting you to get to me. To _be_ with me. It was her, Shampoo. She—"

"SHAMPOOOOO!"

A voice howled out in pain. Ranma and Akane jumped in surprise, and Ranma released her shoulders, throwing them up to defend against a blunt weapon attached to a chain that slid out of the darkness. Ranma threw it to the side, his eyes searching for the voice that had just rang out. _Really?! Don't we have enough problems right now?!_

Mousse appeared in front of them, his glasses glinting dangerously. He stood impressively in front of them with his white robes bulging, moonlight shining off the otherwise hidden pieces of metal poking out of his sleeves, making it clear what he had hidden in his robes.

"I feel like I should thank you, Ranma," he said dangerously, and it was a shock for Ranma and Akane to hear such unbridled rage in his voice. "After all, Shampoo has decided to return to China." Mousse took a step toward them, and a roof tile snapped into pieces under his footfall. "But she's broken. Something changed in the last few hours. She left the restaurant, still clinging to some hope, but she just returned to the shop. She's _broken_. I don't know what happened, I don't know what you did, but I know it was _you_. And like I said, I feel like I should thank you because she has now completely given up on you, but," Mousse lifted his arms above his head, his right foot sliding up his calf to rest on the side of his knee, "instead, all I want to do is kill you."

Mousse threw his arms down in front of him, and a dozen chains whipped out, six from each sleeve. Each weapon glinted dangerously, propelled forward at Ranma and Akane. Ranma grabbed Akane and pulled her to the ground with him as he rolled under the majority of the weapons and kicked away the remaining ones.

"Change of plans," Ranma hissed as he jumped back to his feet, pulling Akane up behind him. "You run, and I'll find you. Just go to the—"

"No!" Akane's fingers wound around Ranma's forearm, tugging at him. "No. We are having this conversation _right now_ Ranma!"

Ranma balked as another weapon shot out at him, this time a sharp hook that he grabbed ahold of, trying to tug Mousse off balance. "What, seriously?!"

"Ranma!" Akane scolded, kicking back another weapon Mousse sent their way. "You know how this goes! We start having a serious conversation, and something gets in the way. Something, or someone, _always_ gets in the way. So we're just going to have to adapt," she grunted, jumping over a rogue spiked ball that bounced her way, "and learn to fight and talk at the same time!"

Ranma slid up against her, dodging a smoke bomb that bounced off the roof to the street below. "No! You need to get out of here! Are you crazy?!"

Akane scoffed, "I think _you_ were about to tell _me_ the answer to that." She grimaced, bending her knees as Mousse prepared for another onslaught of weapons. "Fight and talk, Ranma. What did Shampoo do?"

"DO NOT SAY HER NAME!" Mousse wailed, and his blind rage made him set his sights on Akane. As he leapt in the air, a metal staff slid out of his sleeve, and he gripped it tightly. With a yell he raised it above his head, and brought it down toward Akane. The long metal rod lengthened as he forced it down through the air, growing longer seemingly by magic. It sped up as it got closer to her, and Akane yelped at the speed of it, throwing up her arms defensively.

But Ranma was there before the weapon could strike her. He slid in front of her with his trademark inhuman speed, and his hands came up to catch the rod just inches from his own head.

Ranma grunted. Akane was right. There was no more time left. He had to tell her.

Now or never.

Without looking at her, Ranma let out a slow, steady breath, centering himself. "Shampoo cursed you."

Akane stared at the back of his head. "'C-Cursed'?" Akane almost forgot the danger they were in, stumbling backward slightly. Her mind turned this over like a rock in her hands. _A curse?_ Could that really be true? Hope and anger flashed inside of her: hope, that maybe she wasn't actually crazy, and anger at the idea that all the stress of the past week and a half was because of Shampoo. She opened her mouth to ask more, when something struck her in the side.

As Ranma grappled against Mousse's metal staff, he heard Akane cry out from behind him. He turned his head slightly, yelling her name, and saw her slid across the roof, a gymnast's juggling pin rolling away from her. Akane recovered quickly but winced, her hand going to where it had hit her in the side. "Kodachi," she grumbled, getting to her feet. _If I hadn't been so distracted I would have seen that coming..._ She clenched her teeth, putting up her fists in front of her. _Maybe talking and fighting isn't the best idea..._ But she had to know.

"Akane," Ranma struggled under Mousse's strength as he attempted to wrench the rod out of Ranma's hands, "please, go, I'll explain later-"

"What does this curse do?" Akane spoke, deliberately cutting him off, her eyes scanning for Kodachi. Another juggling pin came flying toward her and the maniacal laughter followed shortly after. Akane caught it, and quickly threw it into the darkness, and Kodachi was forced out into the light as she dodged it.

"Oh ho ho ho ho," Kodachi cackled, pulling a hula hoop out from behind her back. As she raised it above her head, she clicked a button on the side, and spikes popped out from the otherwise smooth plastic. "You've gotten in my way for the _last time girl!_ " Akane grimaced. _Why are you even here?!_

"Seriously-" Ranma started again, but Akane shouted his name in frustration. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Ranma thrust Mousse back by using the rod to toss him off the side, then jumped backwards toward Akane, sliding up against her. They both took defensive stances, Akane facing Kodachi, Ranma facing Mousse in the opposite direction. "I have a better idea." He glanced sideways at her determined face, her eyes on Kodachi. "We fight and talk, and _run!"_

"Die, Saotome!" Mousse roared.

"Die, meddlesome girl!" Kodachi screamed.

As Kodachi and Mousse both moved in to attack, Ranma and Akane ducked in unison, and Ranma swept her up in his arms. Using the icy roof, he slid effortlessly along the edge of the roof and dropped down onto the concrete below. Ranma helped Akane find her footing then grabbed her hand and led her down the street. From behind them they could hear the chaos of Mousse and Kodachi colliding, as well as Shinnosuke and Kuno, who had just caught up.

As their confused yells and sounds of fighting started to fade as they ran, Akane spoke up. "So - again - what does - this curse - do?" she panted.

"Uh, r-right," Ranma stammered. He glanced over her head behind them, and then took a sudden turn down an alleyway sandwiched between two close buildings. Ranma pulled Akane in behind him and glanced down the street they had been coming down, making sure no one was following them.

 _Hey_ , Akane thought slowly, looking around them. _This looks familiar. Isn't this where I...?_ It clicked abruptly. They were back in the alley where Ranma had pulled her when he saved her from the truck. It was hardly over a week ago, but the memory seemed a distant one. Akane shivered thinking about it, and Ranma caught the motion out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry," he said quietly, "are you cold?" He slipped the backpack off his shoulders, and bent over it, rummaging around.

"No, I'm okay," Akane started to say, but Ranma stood up and quickly wrapped a scarf around her neck. He messed with the front of it, tying it on carefully, and his warm breath tickled her nose.

"There. Better?" Ranma looked at her, and realized how close he had gotten to her face. Her brown eyes were only inches in front of his blue ones, and from this close distance he could see faint ice crystals forming on her eyelashes. "S-Sorry," he stammered, nervous but rooted to the spot, "I shouldn't have brought you out into the cold."

"You didn't have much of a choice," Akane said with a small smile. Her fingers gently adjusted the scarf, tucking more of her neck under its warmth. "Thanks." She glanced down, noticing a small, brown package sticking out of his backpack. "Hey, what is that?"

Ranma looked at what she was pointing at. "Oh. Uh," he bent down, picking it up. "Uh, here."

Akane stared the brown paper, taking it hesitantly. "What.. is...?" She gasped slightly, reading the messy handwriting. _'Merry Christmas Akane.'_ She glanced up at him, trying to quell the happy butterflies that were flapping around inside her stomach. "Is this...?"

"Y-Yeah," Ranma, suddenly embarrassed, had a hard time looking at her. "It's your Christmas present. After everything that happened, I didn't really find a good time to give it to you. Not that now is much better, but-"

"Can I open it?" Akane interrupted his rambling, looking at him hopefully.

"I... Yeah, of course."

Smiling, Akane tore carefully at the wrapping paper, and blinked at the book that fell out into her hands.

It was a cook book. "'Cooking Basics'," Akane read the title slowly.

Ranma started rambling again, trying to explain, "I-I know you like to practice cooking, and this one was really recommended for beginners, not that I'm trying to say you're a beginner, but I thought, if you wanted to learn from the ground up, this might, well, yunno-"

"Thank you, Ranma." Akane pulled the book close to her, and looked up admiringly at him. "Really, this means a lot. Thank you. I love it."

Ranma swallowed hard. "Um... Akane, I... have to tell you..." The words were right on his lips. _Akane, I love..._

Akane's breath caught suddenly, catching the look in Ranma's eyes. Why did he look so gentle? What was he about to say? And why did she suddenly feel...

Hope turned to horror as Ranma saw a faraway look come to Akane's eyes. Her face relaxed, and her fingers moved robotically to the scarf around her neck. Her cook book dropped from her arms as she deftly pulled the scarf tight, and her breath stopped in her throat.

" _No! Shit!"_ Ranma swore, scrabbling carefully at her hands. He did his best not to hurt her as he tugged at her hands desperately. "Jeeze, you're strong!" Ranma grit his teeth, struggling to free Akane from her own grasp. "Hey! Hey, Akane! Come back to me!"

He grappled momentarily with her fingers, trying to save Akane from herself. As he eased her hands back inch by inch, Akane let in a rattling breath.

"Ra...n...ma?" Akane's voice was quiet.

"Yes, yes," Ranma said quickly, pulling more on her fingers, "it's me! The real me!"

"Why...?" Slowly, the focus returned to Akane's eyes, but she still looked distant. "Why... is this happening...?"

"This is it," Ranma said, surprised at the strain and pain his own voice. He swallowed, blinking back frustrated tears he could feel forming. "This is what the curse does to you. This is what I should have told you! Please, Akane... Try to fight it."

"Nn…" A look of concentration crossed her face, and slowly, Ranma felt her fingers relax under his, and her breathing steadied. After a few slow breaths, her eyes clicked up to look him straight in the face. "Ranma," the tears started to well up in her eyes, "what is happening to me?"

Ranma couldn't bear to look at her, so he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He tucked her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"D-Don't apologize." Akane felt herself shaking, but not from the cold. "J-Just tell me."

Ranma took a few deep breaths himself, and pulled back enough so that they were face to face. He kept his arms around her, however. "It's the Curse of Almost Death, the Curse of Scorned Love, whatever you want to call it." Ranma tucked a loose strand of hair off of Akane's face as he frowned. "It's an old Chinese curse that Shampoo got her hands on. It's the reason you keep... you keep getting hurt. It's supposed to hurt you when you think of... me." He spat the last word, disgusted with himself. "It tries to make you want to leave me, to save yourself from pain. And if you stay with me..." Ranma shook his head. "I shouldn't have kept this from you, I should have told you. I was trying to protect you, but a hellavu job I did..."

Akane watched his anguished face, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. "It makes me... hurt myself?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. He struggled to find the words. "That's why all these things kept happening... But that's not all." Ranma paused, terrified of telling her the true pain caused by the curse. But Akane was barely listening.

It all made sense. The weird visions, the compromising situations, why it only happened when Ranma was around... _Well, at least I'm not crazy_ , Akane thought hopefully. But that meant the false Ranma that praised her and kissed her, and at the same time wanted her dead, was all just created by the curse. There was no truth in any of it at all. _I should feel relieved but..._ Why did that thought make her so lonely?

"Why Scorned Love?" Akane said suddenly. "What does that mean?"

"Uh, well," Ranma said slowly, growing awkward. "The curse was created originally to punish people for cheating on the person they l-loved."

Akane looked confused. She thought for a moment, then said, "But I never cheated on you." She caught Ranma stiffening slightly, and realized the implications of her words – the lack of denial. "N-Not that—I mean—it's not like I—"

Ranma coughed awkwardly. "The curse only works if you're... in love with me."

"'In love'?!" Akane repeated, shocked, her cheeks lighting up in a blush. "I—I—"

Ranma shook his head sadly. "That's not the worst of it. The curse does not want us to be together, at any cost. It does it's best to make you stop. And if you still love me-"

"-love you-" Akane choked out.

"-by the time the curse runs out, you lose the chance to fall in love ever again."

"-ever _again?_ " Akane repeated, dumbfounded and embarrassed. "Y-You're making a lot of assumptions!"

Ranma frowned. "Akane. It wouldn't work if you didn't."

So that was it. Surely, after everything they had been through, he had to have been able to guess how she felt about him, but while she could have sworn he told her how he felt at Jusenkyo, she had never said anything similar. Akane's mouth flapped weakly, lost for words. _How embarrassing!_ She was mortified. That Ranma knew for the last few days... how she felt about him... A sudden memory popped up in her head.

"You knew!" She yelled suddenly. "When we were in the dojo! And you- you pretended—" she remembered the look in his eyes when he bent in close, looking like he was about to kiss her – _was that a lie?!_ "—when that beam fell! You were testing me!" Akane punched Ranma in the chest suddenly, and he grunted, wincing. The bruise from Shampoo was still bothering him. He stepped back, his arms falling away from her.

"I ... I was." Ranma hung his head. "Like I said, I'm so sorry. I should have told you."

"Damn right you should have!" Now the tears were starting to fall. But instead of sadness, they were born from anger and mistrust. "You played me! You knew how I felt... how I felt about..." She gasped, and covered her mouth with the scarf, closing her eyes in embarrassment. _All this time! He got know how I felt...! And he didn't even tell me!_ "I'm such a fool," she sobbed once.

"No, no, Akane," Ranma said quickly, trying to hold her again, but she pushed him off. "Please..."

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if this curse had its way!"

"Hey. Do _not_ say that." Ranma stepped up, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I didn't work so hard to find a cure just to have you give up."

"A-A cure?" Akane sniffed, looking at him uncertainly.

Ranma nodded. "Shampoo said you had to fall out of love with me, or you'd never love again. But I found a cure." He smiled a little, his eyebrow coming up. "And you already had it."

Akane stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then gasped. Her hand unconsciously went to her pocket where she felt a solid lump. "The candle?" she asked breathlessly.

Ranma nodded, then scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed himself. "Yeah. It's the only thing that's worked before."

Akane turned even more pink. "But that means we would have to use the candle. You... surely you know what it does?" She felt the shape of it uncertainly through her coat pocket. Buying it in vague hopes was one thing, but actually planning to use it was something else entirely. "We... We'd be together. Forever."

Ranma cleared his throat. He bent down, and picked up the cook book. He tucked it in the backpack, and stood back up. "Listen, it's that or you never get to be with anyone else, ever. So... So." He crossed his arms, avoiding her hopeful gaze. "Y-You've still got a decision in this. I-It's me or... nothing." _Sounds lame when I say it like that._

Slowly, Akane smiled. "Hmm…" She pretended to think. "That's a tough decision. Let me think about it."

His head turned quickly. "Wha—Really—?!" He frowned as he saw Akane grin. "Hey now, you...!"

"Well you can't blame me for teasing you," Akane said with a dismissive shrug, wiping away the remnant of her tears. "Considering how long you've kept this from me."

Ranma opened his mouth to respond, when a loud BANG erupted in the street next to them. Instinctively, Ranma threw himself in front of Akane, watching the entrance of the alleyway. _Fuck, they caught up._ "Akane," he said in warning, and heard her respond quietly behind him.

Grabbing her hand and then his backpack, Ranma ran, leading her down the alley,

* * *

"R-Ranma," Akane stammered, out of breath. "We've been running f-for almost an h-hour!"

The moon was fully up in the sky, the chilly night devoid of all clouds. Ranma and Akane had wound their way around Nerima for the last hour, leading a tangle of Mousse, Kodachi, Kuno, and Shinnosuke around behind them. They had hoped that after enough time their pursuers would give up, but somehow, they seemed even more emboldened. Ranma and Akane had had to stop several times for short scuffles, but still they were being followed. And time was running out.

"Shit," Ranma breathed, his already tired body threatening to give out. He jumped down to the roof below them, and heard Akane's feet land behind him. He turned to face her, looking determined. "Akane."

"Yes?" she asked, the scarf he had given her skewed slightly from all the running.

"Listen," he started, "I can fight them, you run, and I'll find you. We can't keep running, I don't even know how late it is, but we've got to shake them, and there's no way I can keep you safe while fighting them, I mean Mousse alone is acting like a mad man—"

"Ranma, you're rambling." Akane put her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow. "Besides, why do you have to keep me safe? I can take care of myself!"

"Damnit, Akane, please, let me do this—"

A voice spoke from the shadows.

"How about you let _me_ do this?"

Akane and Ranma looked up as a young man stepped out into the moonlight. Akane gasped.

"Ryoga!"

The fang-toothed martial artist looked at the both of them, a weird look on his face. Part of him looked proud, the other part sick.

 _Oh, my dear Akane,_ he thought soulfully. He pulled a bandana down from his head, flicking it to make it solid. _We can never be together. Your heart has spoken._

"I'll take care of this," Ryoga said stoically, standing up straight. "You two, go."

Akane put her hand on her mouth. _Even Ryoga knew?! How embarrassing!_

"Ryoga." Ranma clapped a hand on his shoulder, his eyes shining. The two boys looked at each other, trying to read each other's expression. "Ryoga," he said again. "I appreciate this."

"Of course, Ranma." His chest swelled with pride, proud of himself for being so selfless. "You take good care of her—"

"But there's no way an idiot like you can do this on your own."

"Hey!" Ryoga shouted and frowned. "What makes you think you can do it on your own, but I can't?"

"Because I'm me and you're you," Ranma shrugged simply. "Mouse is acting like something I've never seen. He's enraged. I'm telling you, there's no way you can do this on your own—"

"Then I'll help."

Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane turned.

A young woman stepped out onto the roof, a large spatula held at the ready. Ukyo looked at them critically, her eyes lingering on Ranma.

"Ukyo," Akane started slowly, but Ukyo shook her head.

"Sorry, Akane. I shouldn't have tried to use this curse to get closer to Ranma." Her gaze shifted to the pigtailed boy, who looked ashamed. "Ranma made me realize that."

The last day had been extremely difficult for Ukyo. Even cooking hadn't lifted her mood. As she made meal after meal for her customers, all she could see in her mind was Ranma's face as he dismissed her. It had taken time, and tears, and some soul searching, to realize that she couldn't settle herself. She would _never_ settle for someone who wouldn't put her first. Even if it was Ranma, Ukyo had standards. _I'll just become a great chef and an even greater fighter, and Ranma will regret he didn't pick me._

Her heart ached, but Ukyo smiled through it. "Ryoga and I got this." She jerked her head to the side and winked. "Go."

Akane hid her face. _Ukyo knew, too?!_ "Honestly...!" she whispered to herself, mortified.

"Ukyo," Ranma said, walking over to her. His eyes searched her face. "Ukyo, I'm sorry for what I said. About all of this..."

"Ranma," she looked at him for a moment longer, her eyes threatening to tear up, but she refused to let them fall. She smiled painfully and shook her head, resolved. "You owe me a goddamn great okonomiyaki cart."

Ranma met her pained expression with his own. "You got it, Ucchan."

"Alright, get out of here!" Ryoga yelled as Mousse appeared, disheveled, from the darkness.

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand, and looked at Ryoga and Ukyo nervously. "They can't fight all four of them. We'll still be followed."

Ranma frowned and turned away from Akane, thinking. _Maybe I should still stay, we can fight them off together..._ Suddenly, something pushed him hard from behind, sending him stumbling forward. He heard Akane gasp.

Ranma got his bearings and spun quickly, and saw Shinnosuke standing between them, his arms out protectively over Akane. _How did he get here?!_

"You," Shinnosuke said slowly. "I don't know what you are to Akane, but I know that I have a bad feeling about you. You need to leave her alone. If you don't," he slid into an offensive position, his hands balled into fists in front of him, "I will make you."

Ranma growled, but before he could say more than "Hey now-" he heard the rustling sound of an enemy to his right, and barely turned in time to duck out of the way of Kuno's sword. "Fuck!"

"Prepare to feel defeat at the hands of The Blue Thunder of Furikan High!" Kuno swung again, making Ranma bend backwards to avoid another hit. "Saotome, you will no longer be in the way of mine and Akane's true love!"

Ranma jumped over another swipe from Kuno's sword, and yelped as another weapon from Mousse extended out of the darkness. He narrowly avoided the additional attack, even as Ryoga shouted at Mousse. Ukyo had engaged with Kodachi, and the two girls were staring each other down. Ukyo was smiling slightly, glad to have someone to take her rage out on.

As Ranma struggled to fight off Kuno, Shinnosuke and Akane watched from the side. Shinnosuke quietly asked, "Is this Blue Thunder really a great fighter?"

"Not so much," Akane replied dryly. "Hey, Shinnosuke." She tugged on his sleeve, getting his attention. "Listen, we need to talk…"

"Yes," Shinnosuke said, his attention suddenly completely on her. He took her hands in his softly, looking at her tenderly. "Yes, we do."

"Shinnosuke," Akane said slowly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but Ranma and me..."

"You love him?" Shinnosuke asked quietly.

Akane blushed quickly, opening her mouth reflexively, shouting, "N—" She hesitated. She glanced over at Ranma as he swung himself up and over Kuno, making the older boy smack himself in the head with his own wooden sword.

"Yes," Akane whispered, her eyes meeting Shinnosuke's. "I do."

Shinnosuke brought a hand gently up to her face, and slid a thumb over her cheek. "Alright." He smiled at her sadly, pain in his eyes – pain that made her regret the last few hours and days, guilty that she had been too kind to him when she knew how he felt.

"Shinnosuke, I'm so sor—"

"Don't." He smiled, and brushed his thumb over her face one more time. "Akane, I don't remember much in my life. But I can remember you. And I remember the way you look at him," he jerked his head toward Ranma. "The way you smile at him, and the way you look when you miss him. I may think you've chosen poorly, but I know you've chosen the way you must."

Akane smiled sadly, feeling her heart beat painfully. "Shinnosuke, thank you. I... will always treasure you."

Shinnosuke smiled sadly. "Now," he said, pulling his wooden broom off his back, "you need to leave. With him." He winked, turning his back on her, his eyes searching for Kuno. "Go. I'll keep them back."

Ranma was panting heavily, bent over, catching his breath. _Damn this tired body..._ A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, ready to attack, but it was Akane who was staring at him through the moonlight. "Ranma. Let's go."

Confused, Ranma looked up, and saw Shinnosuke and Kuno going head-to-head. Ryoga had Mousse occupied, and Kodachi was getting smacked around by Ukyo's spatula.

Ranma stared at the scene in front of him. _What the hell is going on..._

"Ranma," Akane urged again quietly, and Ranma looked down at her.

"Right," he said slowly. He swallowed hard, realizing the toughest part was yet to come. "Alright, let's go find somewhere to... talk." Gingerly, he took her hand in his, and led her silently off the roof and onto the walkway below.

* * *

They dragged their feet through snow. The buildings were less dense in this part of town and with no one living nearby to shovel the snow, it lay in thick snowdrifts on the ground. Ranma had insisted they get as far away from buildings and homes as possible, tired of running around on them the whole night.

"Wh-where are we going?" Akane whispered, the night and the snow smothering all the sound so that it was silent except for the noises of them trudging through the night.

"There's another old shrine 'round here," Ranma mumbled. "There's a roof, but no door, so it'll offer some protection..." He was still nervous that someone would break away and interrupt them, so he wanted to be as hidden as possible.

Akane looked up, blinking through the darkness. The candle felt so heavy in her pocket, so ominous. She felt warmth fill her cheeks as she thought for the hundredth time what was about to happen between her and Ranma. _This is it... Our last chance to be together..._

As they had walked, Akane had asked Ranma more questions about the curse – what he knew about it, how other people found out. Several times she'd sworn at him, and he'd taken it guiltily. Ranma had told her about most of the curse while they had been running, so the majority of their walk through the snow had been quiet. Ranma, searching for a quiet spot and panicking about what he was about to say; Akane, thinking quietly about the last week and a half, and connecting the dots about what had been going on with her.

The curse had certainly done its job. Her irrational fear of Ranma had reared its head several times over the last week: when she had thrown her clock at him, and screaming at him after falling into the pond. It was embarrassing to realize that so many people knew, and none of them she wanted to. _Least of all, Ranma himself..._ Akane glanced up at the back of Ranma's head. _He knew the whole time... How I felt about him..._

Ranma, sick of the silence, cleared his throat. "Hopefully no one else decides to fight us tonight," he mumbled. "Why do we have so many enemies?"

Akane, still nursing her wounded pride, grumbled back, "I'd like to point out only one of the people following us hates me, the rest are after _you_."

"Yeah well," Ranma said grumpily, "whose fault do you think that is?"

"Yours!" Akane shout-whispered. "You burn bridges just fine on your own! Don't try to blame me!"

"Oh, is that so?" Ranma glared dryly at her over his shoulder. "What about _Shinnosuke?_ He's after me just for _me_ , huh?"

"Maybe!" Akane retorted. "After all, you've been nothing but rude to him since he showed up!"

"Well, _maybe_ I had to balance out all your 'kindness' that looked an awful lot like _flirting_ to me!"

"I can't believe you!" Akane stopped walking, glaring at him. "If you really think I was flirting, then maybe I should just-" she stuck her hand in her pocket, and pulled out the candle, holding it up, "-use this with Shinnosuke! I'm sure _he_ wouldn't mind!"

Ranma's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh?" Akane raised an eyebrow. "Well he hasn't ever been afraid of telling me how he feels. And he didn't keep a secret from me!"

"Uuugh," Ranma threw his arms up. "Like Shinnosuke could even remember a secret long enough to keep it from you! And I said I was _sorry_ , but what choice did I have?"

"What choice did _you_ have? What choice did _I_ have?!" Akane stomped her foot, the sound dampened by the snow. "You could have come to me a week ago and told me about this! We could have figured it out together, but instead you let me embarrass myself for days because – because - because why? Why _didn't_ you tell me? To protect me? Telling me would have protected me best of all! Instead you found out how I feel and just strung me along!"

"That's not it!" Ranma snapped. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I wasn't ready to tell you how I feel about _you?!_ "

His words echoed in the dark night, the fear in his voice evident even to himself. Akane stared at him, her lips parted in a silent gasp, her eyes wide. Her eyes were begging him – _and how_ do _you feel about me?_

Ranma, sulking, turned his head to the side, trying to think of what to say now, when he saw a small light. "There," he said, clearing his throat and pointing. "The shrine is there." Roughly, he stepped forward, and took her hand without looking at her, and pulled the silent girl after him.

An old electric light, caked over with ice, marked the doorway to an open-air shrine that was a little more than a flat bench inside three walls, a peaked roof on top weighed down with snow. It was old and rundown, but the roof had an overhang large enough to keep the snow off of the raised stone floor. Ranma led Akane inside carefully, and released her hand once they were both inside. The walls kept the moonlight and the wind out, but did little else to keep them warm.

Ranma straddled the bench and sat, a leg on each side. Akane sat down as well, but kept both her legs on one side. She twisted to face him, the small bench only allowing a foot a space between them on the old slates of wood.

Akane blinked at Ranma quietly, as he looked at her defiantly. Finally, he spoke again. "Well... Take the candle out." He had intended to sound tough, but his nervousness came out.

Slowly, carefully, Akane reached into her pocket, and gently placed it between them. They stared at it, the ugly little brown thing looking innocuous, and hesitated.

 _Is this really the right candle?_ Ranma thought with trepidation. _Will it really work?_

"So... How does it work?" Ranma asked, refusing to look up as Akane lifted her head to look at him.

"Don't you know?"

"Well, yeah, but..." He cleared his throat. "I mean, you musta bought it because you knew, too."

"Uh, yeah, I know how to use it..."

They both trailed off into silence.

Ranma was painfully reminded of that incident in the dojo back when he barely knew Akane, and he threatened to kiss her. She had dared him to, and then... nothing. They had only looked at each other, embarrassed, until her family had interrupted. _Late bloomers indeed,_ Ranma thought bitterly.

He took a deep breath, refusing to be afraid anymore. "Alright, then, Akane...!"

Akane looked to him, hopeful.

"...Uh, you go first."

Akane rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. _Why you...!_ She scoffed. "Don't we all know how I feel now? Doesn't all of Nerima know?"

"Well," Ranma said, frowning, "you still have to say it. Yunno, to him." He pointed at the candle.

"It's not a him, it's—oh whatever." Akane tightened her arms, glancing around at the walls around them, before looking resolutely at Ranma.

"This is the only way to cure me?"

"Yes. Unless you want to be alone forever."

Akane sighed. Compared to how embarrassed she felt now, being alone forever didn't seem like a bad alternative.

"Oh, fine," she sighed at last. "Ranma, I..."

Ranma looked at her, sudden panic filling him. Was he ready for this?! After all this time, was he ready to hear her say how she felt? Was he ready to say it back? His self-preservation instincts kicked in, and he opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say, his mind screaming to tell her to stop-

"I love you, Ranma." As she said it, a single tear fell, tracing a line down her cheek.

Ranma gulped his mouth closed, his heart doing summersaults. He wanted to ask her to say it again, and again, and again – to say it until he had every bit of her memorized, so that he could revisit this moment again and again. But instead he asked, "Why are you crying?"

Akane swiped it away forcefully with her palm, her heart beating hard in her chest – she was anxious, and fearful, her body reacting as the curse had conditioned her. It frustrated her. "Because normally when I say that to you, you try to kill me afterwards."

"Oh." Ranma looked down, hating this damn curse more than ever. "Oh, is that... right?"

Akane sniffled. Ranma shuffled his feet. They both knew what had to happen next.

But Akane saw a weird look cross his face. "What?"

"Oh," Ranma said, startled. He traced her face with his eyes, and his face reddened. "It's just... _cool_ to hear you say it. Like..." he grew awkward. "Thanks," he said lamely.

Akane's eyes narrowed and she scoffed. "Well, I wouldn't know how that felt. In all those weird... curse-induced visions, you never said it back to me. And you _still_ haven't!" She said it to try to encourage him to speak up, but she couldn't hide the resentment in her voice. After all, he clearly knew how she felt, and had for a while, and yet she was still the only one speaking her mind!

"Hey," Ranma started, getting defensive. "That wasn't actually me. You know that. And besides, why would I be here if I didn't – if I wasn't prepared to – I mean," Ranma looked at his hands, twirling his fingers around each other. "...I _have_ to say it, don't I?"

Akane bristled like an angry cat. "You HAVE to?!"

Ranma was astonished by the anger in her voice. "Y-Yeah, because otherwise the curse will—"

"Oh _don't put this on the curse, Ranma!"_ Akane yelled, standing up. She was **furious**. "I would much rather live my life alone than with someone who doesn't feel the same way about me!"

Ranma was abruptly reminded of the thing Akane said, just days ago, when he had been hanging outside her window. When she had sadly sighed and mumbled to her friends, _"I don't think I could love someone who doesn't love me."_

Ranma jumped to his feet, breathing hard. "You idiot!"

"S-So what if I am!" Akane yelled back.

"No, listen to me! _You're an idiot!_ "

Akane, startled, took a step back. Was he really doing this? "Are you... are you really trying to make me hate you? Because if that's what you're going for—"

"Akane, you're an idiot!" Ranma was yelling, his hands balled into fists. Adrenaline pumped in his veins. "An idiot for loving me, and an idiot for doubting me right now! You're impatient and stubborn, and you never listen to me! You never let me, or anyone else, tell you what to do! You put your all into everything, and you care so much, and you never give up! Not even on me! You still rely on me when I've let you down so many times before, and you make me want to be better – to be the person you seem to think I am!"

Now Akane was bewildered. Her mouth dropped open. Was he insulting her or praising her? She really couldn't tell.

Ranma grimaced, but didn't stop. He couldn't stop. "This isn't how I wanted this to go down! I wanted to be nice, and say it meaningfully, and I wanted to hold your hand, but you're so – grrraah – you're so frustrating! You make me so confused, and overwhelmingly happy, and so I can never say what I want to because I don't want to say it wrong so I say nothing at all! And I hate that it took a curse from Shampoo to put me on the spot like this, and Ukyo making me try to imagine life without you to make me realize I would do _anything_ for you! Because while I never signed up to fall in love with an idiot like you, now here I am," he spread his arms dramatically, "trying to prove it to you, because apparently, I haven't done a good enough job yet!"

Akane's eyes darted between both of Ranma's. She looked shocked.

Ranma stared her down, huffing and puffing, his cheeks bright red. "So that's why you're an idiot. A beautiful, fucking idiot. And that's why I love you."

Akane stared at him, open-mouthed. A numbness spread through her limbs that she struggled to fight off.

 _Fuck you, Ryoga,_ Ranma thought, embarrassed at his own outburst. _You knew this would happen, didn't you? Even though you told me not to, I don't know any other way to say this. I just can't say it calmly like you!_

Slowly, Akane closed her mouth. She bent her knees and sat back down, still silent. She looked pale.

Ranma gulped, and sat back down as well. _What is she thinking? Is she mad?_

Akane took several slow, deep breaths. As Ranma had shouted those last few words – _That's why I love you!_ – a double-image of Ranma had appeared. Like a ghost, the second Ranma had held his hand out to her, mouthing the words the real Ranma said, but with a gentle smile on his face. _Come to me,_ he had said, smiling, whispering, promising more...

And for the first time since the curse started, Akane had refused his hand.

It had taken all of her willpower, but as she rejected him, the double vision of Ranma had disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. She felt proud of herself, but something still tugged at her mind. The curse was still there, threatening to pull her in if she thought too deeply about what Ranma had just said.

A thick silence filled the air as Akane finally did mull over Ranma's words. She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, and watched him fume at the wall. Slowly, she smiled.

"Thanks."

Ranma turned his head toward her so fast he felt a stab of pain in his neck. "Th-thanks?! That's all you have to say?!"

Akane tilted her head, her smile growing playful. "Well that's what you said to me."

"Er," Ranma scratched his face, ashamed, his eyes on her. "Oops. Right."

Akane laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. "We're a mess."

Slowly, he smiled back. "M-mhm."

"Well," Akane took a deep breath, "if that wasn't a confession, I don't know what is." Now she was beaming at him, but still something was at the back of her mind. Something wasn't quite right... but what was it... Could it be...?

Ranma smiled, and then blinked. "Wait, so that means—the candle!" Together, they looked down in unison.

The candle remained still and cold between them.

"What... It's not working," Ranma said numbly. "Why isn't it working?"

Akane looked to him, growing fearful. "What does it mean?"

GONG!

Both teenagers jumped and looked to the side as a loud clang rang out. It was the bell tower. Even out here, at the edge of town, it was visible, lit up in the dark night like a beacon. Both hands on the clock face stood straight up, marking the hour. It was midnight.

 _...I can't believe it._ "I-It's too late," Akane whispered, breathless. The candle had not lit. Their time was up.

Her hair brushed her shoulders as she swung her head to look at Ranma, wide-eyed and pale. "It must not be the right candle," she guessed, hesitating. _Or..._

Ranma could only look at her, his breath coming in fast, short gasps. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. _I was supposed to save her. Save us._ His heart started racing. "Akane," he started, at a loss. "I-I'm so sorry." _I failed._

The bell rang out again, and tears sprang to Akane's eyes. "So, this is it?" She let out a weak, bitter laugh. "We – we what? We finally figure out how we feel, and – and it's just going to end like this?" Her sardonic laugh at the end of the sentence was cut off by a sob. Ranma grit his teeth, feeling his own eyes well up. His left hand curled up into a fist.

Each bell toll ringing out sounded ominous, cutting their last seconds together – _truly together_ – shorter with each gong. _How many was that? Seven? No, eight._

Ranma fought to make each second last, his eyes traveling over her face, taking in her big brown eyes framed by long eyelashes, her heart-shaped face, her dark hair.

Akane was talking before he realized it, "Maybe we can still— there might be a way—"

"Akane," Ranma silenced her with a shake of his head. Her tears were falling down her face in thin streams. Suddenly, being embarrassed didn't matter anymore. All the words he wanted to say to her, he had to say now or he would never have the chance.

The ninth gong rang out, and Ranma started speaking quickly. "I-I won't leave you. Even if you never, never love me again. Even if you hate me." The tenth gong burnt his ears. "I can't have anyone but you. I won't love anyone else. I'll stay with _you_ , no matter what." His hands reached out, seeking her. He clasped the back of her head, pulling her face toward him as he leaned in to meet her to the sound of the eleventh bell toll. "I'll love only you forever."

Their lips connected with force – Ranma jumping to beat the twelfth gong, to not regret wasting his last second with her. The sound of the last toll was lost alone in the night as the sound of blood rushing past his ears drowned out the cruel noise. Akane's nose was cold with the weather, but her lips were surprisingly warm against his. She tasted like salty tears but there was a sweet, seductive undertone that tugged at his heart, made him want him more, and made his blood run with regret that he would never taste it like this again.

It was this thought that kept him pressed against her for so long. His own eyes were burning with bitter tears, and he refused to let go as long as he could. He wanted her. He _wanted_ her. But this was the last he was going to have of her.

The panic and dread was too much; he let his instincts take over for him. He let the world fall away like an old jacket, and all that was left was him and Akane, connected. He was moving against her, working into a deeper kiss, and on some level it registered that she was moving as well. Despite his desperation, he kissed her slowly, savoring the new sensation of Akane against him. He was hungry in a way he had never experienced before, and this was the only way to satisfy this part of him. His palms were rounded against her cheeks, his fingers entwined in her hair. The warmth of her mouth burned him, the taste of her as his tongue brushed over her lips was devastatingly wonderful. He wanted nothing more than to live in this moment forever.

But even as he wished for it, he felt small fingers wrap around his wrist, tugging at him gently, asking for him to let go.

With a last, longing taste, the kiss ended. Ranma was reluctant to pull away, and refused to do so entirely. His mouth left hers with a small, frustrated grunt, but he kept his forehead pressed against hers, his hands still firmly holding her face. He kept his eyes shut tight, as he heard her breathe heavy, hot short gasps into the winter air.

He sat down, still holding his forehead against hers, unsure when he had raised up onto his feet in the first place, and opened his eyes.

A tiny, pink flame danced below him. The candle was still between them, but now it was alight, giving off surprising warmth for such a small flame. He watched it silently for a few seconds, his own panting making it dance back and forth. _So it was the right one,_ he thought numbly. A shit load of good it did them now, lighting after midnight. _Too late little candle_... _You were too late. So was I._

"Ranma?"

With great unwillingness, Ranma forced himself to release her. He let go of his hand on her face first before pulling his head back. He kept his eyes down, until his breathing slowed. Then he looked up into wide, confused eyes before him, steeling his heart.

Akane was regarding him with an expression he couldn't make out. She had three fingertips pressed to her lips. Though it made no sense how, the candle was casting a faint pink light over her, coloring her face and clothes in the light hue.

It was the hardest thing he had ever done, keeping eye contact with her. It was so hard not to shout in anger, or cry in frustration, or kiss her again. He let out a shaky breath, his heart beating painfully against his ribs. "S-So," he mumbled at last, "what now? You, um," he cleared his throat, "are probably pretty pissed I just did that, right? Right. Sorry."

Akane said nothing. She was just staring at him, and it made him want to run and hide. "Well," he started again, "I understand if you don't want to see me for a little while. It is my fault that you can't, now, you know, that you can't... That is..."

"Love," Akane said abruptly.

 _Shit,_ Ranma groaned internally, _she has every right to be mad._ "Y-Yeah, that. Listen, I am so sorry. I promise, I'm going to do whatever it takes to undo this. I'll go to China if I have to. I'll do research. I'll find some way to help you, I will. I'll even..."

Ranma was blabbering, desperate, confused, heart-broken. Akane could do nothing but just stare at him as he waved his hands, shook his head, looked away and then glanced back at her with sadness in his eyes. He was bathed in the same pink light that she was.

"B-But please," he finished, "don't tell me you hate me now." His voice sounded pathetic to even him. "I don't think I could handle it if—"

Akane moved the hand from her lips, planting the fingers firmly against Ranma's mouth instead, to shut him up. She stared at him, her eyes wide, her face blank. "I don't hate you." Ranma's eyes softened in relief. "I love you." The words came so naturally it surprised her.

Blue eyes stared into her brown ones. Moments passed in complete silence, as they sat, just looking at each other.

"What?" Ranma said, his lips brushing her fingertip. He didn't want to risk believing it. "That's impossible. We were too late. I was too late. Are you sure?"

Akane was almost unwilling to believe it herself, for fear that she was wrong. But looking at him now, and remembering that kiss, made her shiver. She pulled her hand back, clenching it together with her other hand in her lap. "Uh, pretty sure."

Ranma looked bewildered, then his face broke out in a goofy grin, then quickly resumed looking bewildered. "How? What happened? What changed?"

"I... don't know," Akane said slowly. But she thought she knew.

She _had_ believed him when he told her that he loved her. She knew he meant it. But despite that, she didn't believe that his love for her was exclusive. Just hearing him say Shampoo and Ukyo's names tonight made her falter. Too many times she had seen him with his other fiancées and other women to believe fully that even if he loved her that it meant she was only one he loved. It was possible to love more than one person, and it had always been a concern for her when she saw how he treated Ukyo and Shampoo. It had only been just before the kiss, as he said that she was one he loved, the only one, that she had noticed a small pink light fill the air, just a moment before his lips found hers, and felt confidence and happiness surge through her.

Ranma, meanwhile, was looking at his hands. He lifted his fingers one-by-one, as if he were counting. "Oh." He looked up at her, holding up nine fingers. "We may have missed midnight, but it didn't matter. I counted wrong - there was still another day left. We still had another 24 hours to break the curse. My bad."

Akane punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow," Ranma said with a cheeky grin. "Oops."

"Honestly!" Akane sighed, rolling her eyes. "Making us panic about running out of time like that!"

Ranma looked at her, his eyes sweeping over her. "Well," he said slowly, "I guess we have all the time in the world now."

Blushing, Akane could only hold his gaze for a few seconds before she had to look away. She could still feel Ranma's lips on hers, and unconsciously licked her lips. "M-Mm... I guess so..."

Ranma noticed the motion of her tongue flicking over lips, and he swallowed hard. He'd just kissed those lips. Akane. He just kissed Akane. He just kissed Akane?! The reality of what he'd just done hit him in a sudden burst of emotions.

Ranma jumped to his feet, trying to distract himself. "U-Uh, in that case, I-I mean, i-it's late, we should get home!?"

"Oh yes!" Akane gasped, standing up herself. "Jeeze – the way we left, my family probably has so many questions. What are we going to tell them? And Shinnosuke was supposed to leave tonight too. I wonder if he did already..."

Akane trailed off. Ranma was looking at the candle, obviously working something over in his mind. "What are you thinking about?"

Ranma glanced up at her. "Well," he said slowly, "do you... feel any different?" He nodded toward the candle, the innocent little flame still emitting a pink light that somehow filled the small shrine. "It's, uh, supposed to tie us together forever, isn't it? So shouldn't we feel... different?"

"Hm..." Akane said thoughtfully. "I don't think I feel anything new? Maybe... mm, no."

"What?" Ranma asked.

"Mm..." Akane hesitated. "Maybe, we've already been tied together for a while. We just... couldn't admit it."

Ranma blushed, then frowned. "And, wait, if there's still a day left, how do we know for sure you're cured?"

Akane thought for a second, then leaned toward him. Ranma stiffened, surprised at their closeness. "Ah—"

"Tell me you love me," Akane said quietly, unsmiling, her brown eyes boring into his.

A blush swept up Ranma's neck, through his cheeks, and up to his hair. _Eep, she's so cute._ "I-I-I-I," he stammered, "I-I l-l-l-love y-y-y-you...!"

Akane blinked, glancing around the shrine, then grinned at him and winked. "We're good." Joy filled her – not only at hearing Ranma confess to her, _again!_ , but that there was no other Ranma standing next to him. She felt in control of her own body for the first time in days.

Ranma flapped his mouth, confused, and slightly disappointed that she hadn't been about to kiss him like he thought she was. Instead he frowned, and stood up straight and opened his mouth to say something, when she suddenly piped up, "I love you too."

Glowing with another blush, Ranma scratched his nose. "M-Mm, good." He glanced at her, then looked away, embarrassed.

Akane, laughing, picked up the candle, and carefully blew it out.

* * *

"Sooo, Akane… How are you and Ranma doing?"

Akane sighed, a small smile creeping onto her face.

To give her friends credit, Yuka and Sayuri had waited until they were about to leave to ask her about her love life. Akane rolled her eyes, but knew better than to brush the question off like she always had before. "We're... good." She said quietly, simply.

Yuka and Sayuri squealed, teasing her. "Good? You two must be better than that!"

"After all," Sayuri pointed out, "we haven't heard from Shampoo and Mousse since they left."

"Yeah," Yuka piped up, "and Ukyo left town with her new okonomiyaki cart a week ago!"

"I'll miss her," Sayuri said, "her food was so tasty."

"Yeah well, she said she'll be back soon, she's just going to travel a bit..."

As Yuka and Sayuri chatted, Akane watched her two friends fondly. It had been a month since the cold night where her and Ranma had confessed to each other. Since then, more information had come out: Nabiki let slip that she was the reason that not only Ukyo found out, but that she led to the Kuno siblings showing up that night. Nabiki's apology was almost nonexistent, but she did contribute to Ukyo's new okonomiyaki cart, which was suspiciously out of character for her – until she mentioned to Ranma he'd have to pay her back someday, with interest.

With her new cart, Ukyo had left Nerima with the promise to return with 'a better boyfriend than even Ranma!' She still liked to tease him, and gave Genma a hard time about the past, but she had pulled Akane aside on the day she left. "You take good care of him - I better not come back to find out you blew it and he's single again!" Akane had stammered through Ukyo's bold declaration, and her clear admittance of defeat, and Ukyo had laughed it off as a joke. "But actually, watch out," she added just before leaving. "I might end up following that Shinnosuke guy - he was cute!" Shinnosuke had left the same night the curse had been broken. He apologized to Ranma for their "disagreements" - he claimed he barely remembered Ranma and was confused why he was so mad, but Akane caught him glaring when he thought no one was looking -, and left a long standing offer that Akane and Ranma could visit him whenever they pleased.

Meanwhile, Shampoo and Mousse had disappeared overnight. They hadn't spoken again with Ranma or Akane before leaving Japan, but Akane heard from Ukyo that Shampoo and Mousse seemed suspiciously close, and Mousse suspiciously happy. Akane wished them the best even though right now the idea of seeing Shampoo again someday made her cringe. But Akane knew that time was a powerful thing, especially when it came to healing. She had no doubt she'd see the purple haired girl again, she just hoped she'd be ready to forgive her when she did. Ranma swore up and down that he would never speak to her again, but Akane wondered if time wouldn't change him, too. After all, if not for the curse, she wasn't sure her and Ranma would ever have had the courage to face each other so openly. In a weird way, she had Shampoo to thank for them finally admitting their feelings for one another, but Akane found it difficult to think that way.

Akane had also finally shared all the details with her two friends about the curse that had affected her. She was carefully to speak about the visions only when she was sure Ranma was nowhere nearby to listen in – she would've been mortified to have him know what she'd imagined the two of them doing together, curse or no curse! After all, even though they had confessed to each other, and even though they were confident in their attachment to each other, they were still... _late bloomers._ Kisses were few and far between, and left both of them breathless and embarrassed whenever it happened. The idea of kissing the way they had in her visions seemed a long way off.

But still, Akane was happy. And she was pretty sure Ranma was, too. He had wilted under new pressure from their fathers to pursue marriage, but after Akane subtly pointed out that both Shampoo and Ukyo were out of the picture, Soun and Genma had quieted down and Ranma had perked back up.

"Alriiight, Akane," they said a sing-song voices, breaking her free from her thoughts. "We'll see you tomorrow at school!"

Akane walked her friends to the door, shrugging off their teasing, and giggling with them about inside jokes. She waved to them from the gate, then went back inside and got ready for bed, her mind wandering between different thoughts of school, Ranma, and the approaching spring. As she left the bathroom, tooth brush in hand and her mind on the classwork due tomorrow, she was surprised to turn the corner and come face-to-face with Ranma.

"Ah," he said suddenly, blinking. "H-Hey."

"Hey," Akane said, smiling. Ranma was still jumpier than he had been before they had shared their feelings, but Akane found his nervousness sweet. It seemed to frustrate him, though, that she tended to be the calm one.

Ranma glanced around the hallway, rolling back and forth on his feet. "You had fun with your friends?"

"Yeah." Akane narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"Me? No!" Ranma pretended to act shocked, and Akane laughed. He grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Glad to hear we're 'good,' though."

Akane tsked, stamping her foot as she reddened. "Honestly! Don't eavesdrop on me!"

Ranma shrugged. "I didn't mean to. I was just checkin' in, making sure you were... yunno."

Akane glanced down and shuffled her feet. Ranma, it seemed, still carried a lot of fear in the aftermath of the curse. Sometimes he'd appear out of nowhere around the house, or at school, and look around until he saw her. He always made excuses as to why he was there, but there was an unspoken understanding between them that he was checking in on her. He liked to make sure there were no lasting effects from the curse. Luckily though, Akane was pleased that there didn't seem to be anything lingering. But she liked seeing him so frequently, so she pretended to be ignorant, and didn't bother to tell him to stop.

"Alright, well," Ranma said slowly. "See you tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Akane said, moving past him. "And don't you _dare_ eavesdrop on me again, or I swear—"

As Akane slid past him, Ranma deftly bent down, stealing a quick kiss.

Akane stopped short, gasping quietly. She touched her lips in disbelief, feeling the warmth of her cheeks on her fingers. She looked up at him, shocked.

Ranma searched her face, grinning. While he was still getting used to his new closeness with Akane, there was a few fun surprises he was discovering with their new relationship. _Like whenever I kiss her, she stops being mad._ This was quickly becoming his new favorite trick. "G'night," he said with a wink, then continued on down the hall, whistling.

Akane stood silently in the hall for a long time, staring after him, before weakly padding off down the hall to bed.

Things in Nerima had certainly calmed down lately, but they both knew it wouldn't last. As long as Ranma was around, things would never stay quiet for long.

* * *

 **T-H-E - E-N-D**

* * *

 **Ending Note, 8/17/17:** Here we are - the end!I can't believe this took me so long, but it has truly been a labor of love since I first had the idea in October of 2015. Thank you to everyone for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I feel the weight of the cliche ending, with so many characters finding their solutions and their ends, but I feel like a couple like Ranma and Akane deserve that packaged end. Besides, we never know what the future may hold for them, so at least we can solve some of their problems now before more inevitably appear.

The scene of Akane and Ranma kissing over the candle was what led to the whole story, so I've been pursuing this ending scene for so long, it feels good to finally get it out. Please let me know if there's any loose ends you feel I didn't wrap up, and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may still have. Thank you to everyone for reading! Next time I release a story (which I hope I get a chance to) I plan on writing the whole thing and releasing it as a finished story. No more chapter-by-chapter nonsense. So if you enjoyed this story, I hope you'll keep an eye out for more from me in the future. Cheers! - AliasAlien


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